Fear Itself
by deathofaraven
Summary: In the year after the Games, Jenny's grown up. When she and her friends decide to go on a trip before college, Jenny is visited in her dreams by a stranger who warns that the Shadow Men are coming for her. Little does she realize...he's right.
1. Can't I Even Dream?

Dedication: To Claire, who's had to wait the longest for this story than anyone else. And to _you_, if you've stuck with me from the beginning and aren't sick of waiting for me and haven't decided to come after me with radioactive sporks yet.

_Please look at author's note at bottom of the page!_

* * *

**Chapter One**

Jenny felt peaceful. Most of the time it was an odd feeling, but at that moment it was nice. Nice to just stand there amidst the falling snow and be held. It had been so long since she'd just been held like that. Reveling in the feeling, Jenny held herself to him contentedly. He stroked her hair softly, sending sparks though her nervous system. Despite the moonlit snow, it wasn't cold, but Jenny still held tighter to him. As if in response, Julian kissed the top of her head; the corner of his mouth quirked slightly as the girl sighed.

"I can't stay long today, Jenny," he murmured in her ear, his eyes downcast.

Jenny frowned. She didn't like when he had to go, she didn't dream about him enough to easily deal with it. Granted, if she dreamed about him more often, her little secret (that she did dream of him) would be at a risk for exposure. And there was no way that her friends—and Tom—would ever understand that.

"Why?" Jenny finally asked, risking sounding bratty. "Is it Tom? Or my friends? My family? I-"

"No." Julian finally succeeded in cutting her off and added, "The longer I stay with you, the more at risk you are. I can't let anything happen to you, Jenny. I _won't_ let anything happen."

Jenny looked down, feeling awkward and selfish and miserable all at once. Couldn't she even dream without something happening? Julian seemed to sense her distress and gently tilted her head up. He kissed her softly, with a tenderness that made her knees weak and pushed every bad feeling out of her mind. She relaxed in his arms, never wanting to leave as the peace she'd felt previously returned.

The kiss broke far too soon, in her opinion, and Julian pulled her close. _She_ didn't see the frown of confusion that suddenly flashed over his face.

Jenny hadn't noticed that the temperature around them had been steadily dropping lower until then. Her breath turned to mist in the air as Jenny also became aware of the difference of the arms holding her; where once she was in a loving caress, she was suddenly in a grip of iron. The girl thrashed violently trying to get away from the rough, scaly arms holding her as the sound of icy Christmas bells filled the air. Laughing. Laughing. Laughing.

The blood in her veins seemed to freeze, and Jenny was nearly overcome by her fear. _No, no, no! I don't want to be here. I don't want to see this! You can't make me! I'm my only master! Out! Get out! Get out of my head!_

"Don't be stupid, little girl," a wind chime-like voice hissed in her ear, laughter in its words. "We're always here. Always waiting."

"Go away!" Jenny all but moaned, fear making her body shake though her voice stayed rather level.

The laughing started up again and Jenny felt an odd lethargy creep through her body.

"So tired…let us carry you. We can embrace you. Wouldn't-"

_No!_

The shadow man, or at least that's what Jenny assumed him to be, vanished in a wave of negation. When the explosion of energy had passed, Jenny found herself on the floor, on her knees, trying to stop shivering. Jenny looked up quickly. Green eyes wide, her first, rather foolish, thought was _Julian? _The boy before her smirked and extended his hand to help her up. Jenny took it blushingly.

Of course it wasn't Julian. This boy's hair was black, black as ink or a starless night, and his eyes were the exact color of molten gold, warm and shining. There were similarities between him and Julian here and there, but for the most part they were completely the opposite. They had the same well-built body, the same exotic features, and the same quixotically arrogant air to them. Though, even there, there were differences. This boy's shoulders were broader, his limbs longer, and his features were stronger but, in an odd way, more youthful. But they both had a cat-like air to them.

But where Julian was a sleek white tiger, this boy was a lazy black panther.

"I could pose for you," he stated suddenly, smirking in a manner that was playful but not mocking, "unless…you're done with the mental assessment?"

Jenny looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring. Noting that she now seemed to be standing in a hallway that wouldn't have looked out of place in a school, she nodded.

"Good. We can get straight to business, then."

Jenny blinked at him. "Business?"

"Yes," he said, his smirk fading. "They're going to come back, and I can't hold them off forever. They're bastards that way." He paused for a moment as if listening to something far off. "Oh." He met Jenny's eyes directly for the first time, and said, "Go. They're coming." He hesitated again, and Jenny couldn't place the emotions on his face. "If you need help, or something…for any reason, call for me, and I'll find you."

Confusion swirled through Jenny's head as her world started to blur slightly. "What do I call you?"

"Call me-"

**_Thump!_**

Jenny woke up as the rental car gave an almighty lurch. She stretched slightly, accidentally kicking her cousin, Zach. He gave her a sleepy glare and closed his gray eyes, though she knew he was still awake. Jenny rolled onto her side and sat up so she could lean against the window. Her shirt had scrunched up a little while she slept, and she fidgeted with the hem until it fell correctly.

"Sorry," Michael, who was driving, muttered as Dee gave him a fierce glare. Michael's teddy bear shaped body seemed to get smaller, and, satisfied, Dee turned back to her Gameboy.

Jenny sighed inwardly. Her friends had been acting the same way the entire trip, and, seeing as there was nothing else to do, Jenny wondered how Tom was. He was in the car behind Dee's, with Audrey, Summer, and most of the luggage. She hoped he would be feeling better soon, but Jenny wasn't too confident. The trip seemed to have been cursed with bad luck. The rental cars (a deep green Jeep van and a gun metal gray Chrysler) had run out of gas too frequently and blown tires. Summer got sun-burned in Phoenix. Dee got into a fight and was sporting a black eye and several nasty cuts and bruises. One of Zach's most expensive new cameras had somehow broken. And Tom had gotten food poisoning. The fact of which was made worse by them having not even arrived in Las Vegas yet.

And that Jenny was having nightmares. But no one knew about those. She _refused_ to let the others worry by talking about vengeful shadow men. It would _definitely_ kill the trip.

With another sigh, Jenny moved into a more comfortable position and adjusted the volume on her CD player.

_Pictures of you…_

The heat was blinding here, in the middle of nowhere. The desert sun painfully bright to her sleep-crusted eyes. How could anything living stand being here?

_…It's just pictures of you through the bedroom door, with that sly little grin says you want it some more. But there's people around, and they don't look so nice. Tell me, why don't they move? This has happened before…_

Well, they got that part right, didn't they? Endless desert surrounded the car like a sea, and, awake, Jenny found that she was now terribly, horribly bored.

_…This has happened before. It's just pictures of you…_

She looked at the Joshua trees twisting oddly along the road. To Jenny, they looked like people in pain, frozen into a tree-like form.

_…In darkness…_

There was a nudge on Jenny's knee, and she looked up to see Zach holding a thick book out to her. Jenny accepted it wordlessly. Zach smiled slightly, something he'd started doing more of since he and Summer had started dating, and went back to reading the instructions for his newest camera. Jenny's pine green eyes, however, were fixed on the book before her. _Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales._ Was he joking? Jenny looked over at her cousin. Her eyes traveled over his ashy blond hair, his cool gray eyes, and his beaky nose. He was still smiling. _Yep, he was joking._ Jenny shook her head, trying not to smile herself, and put the book aside. She looked out the window and let her mind wander again.

_…with the knife in your hand, with the rose in your teeth lying nude in the sand. It's just pictures of you, standing high on a cliff with the wind in your hair, and a smile on your lips. And your eyes were so wild when you started to laugh; blending in with the wind it sounded just like a scream. Why do pictures of you…come to me when I dream? In darkness…._

Jenny's hand hit the CD's off button in an instant. God, why was she listening to that? She yanked the headphones off with such violence that Zach shot her a look. She shook her head at him and he turned back to his booklet. An odd loneliness started to overtake Jenny. She couldn't tell if it was because of having nothing to do or because of the memories the song stirred up. Jenny wasn't a fool, and she knew she was in a bad place. She knew it, the shadow men knew it, and anyone who asked her anything remotely Game related would know it. She leaned against the window again and closed her eyes. Maybe if she thought of something else she wouldn't be forced to think about…

Within moments Jenny was asleep.

_…Julian._

This time, she did not dream.

* * *

_Jenny?_

_Jenny!_

"Hey, Sunshine! We're here!"

Dee's excited voice forced Jenny awake. She made to wipe the sleep from her eyes and stopped, staring out the window she'd been using as a pillow. It was dusk, a beautiful twilight. Somewhere below them and to the right of the highway was The Strip. The sky wasn't even fully dark yet, and already it was illuminated by hundreds of thousands of lights. The roof of the Luxor was a triangle of brilliant white light. Billboards flashed erratically, proclaiming deals, shows, and other various bits of information.

Jenny was in awe. Zach snapped pictures as Dee smiled victoriously, and Jenny heard Michael's faint whisper of: "Money…."

Dee turned off the highway after a while (she'd switched with Michael while Jenny slept) and slowly made her way through the busy Strip traffic. As they drove between the massive, brightly lit buildings a sign caught Jenny's eye: _Low priced games of chance! One cent, five cent, and ten cent games to _die_ for!_ Jenny felt cold sweep over her, like an ice cube running down her spine. Worry pricked at her gut, and her little fingers tingled. _Everything's going to be fine,_ she told herself.

Deep down, she had the overwhelming feeling that _things_ were about to happen.

* * *

**Author's notes:** If we haven't met in this fic before, hello! If we have, welcome back, my dears! =D For those of you that don't know, this is the sequel to _The Reasons We Choose_. Some of you, hopefully, are old hats at this fic and will have noticed that *gasp* all the old chapters are missing! Yeah...that's not a mistake. I deleted them. But don't worry, they'll be back. :) You see, the reason I wasn't updating is cuz I met this giant demonic...demon who's name meant Plot Development. Now, PloDt and I got into a very long, very serious war that I eventually lost. I'm serious, guys, I realized my writing wasn't the best so I rewrote everything. It's basically the same story with better writing, a plot in mind, and hopefully more defined characters. I kept all the scenes that were best received...or...I think I did, anyway. I really hope you guys enjoy it, so please review and tell me what you think. 'Til next time!

**Disclaimer:** I, in no way shape or form, own Forbidden Game, Vampire Diaries, Nightworld, nor any of the other books, songs, etc. that may pop up in this story. I own only the plot and would appreciate not being sued.


	2. Marcus

**Chapter Two**

Julian was…well…pissed off. He'd been enjoying his limited time with Jenny, something he hadn't been able to do much of lately, when he'd been thrown unceremoniously from the dream. And, upon trying to reenter it, Julian had been met with a very solid, very painful, very invisible barrier. _The Elders…. _He'd cursed and ranted and drew ruins on it. When all else failed, he kicked it; which turned out to be very stupid because the barrier was so obviously solid. Now he had to worry about his aching foot. Things just kept getting better and better.

The next time he tried to enter Jenny's mind (his own mind getting snarkier by the moment), Julian found he still couldn't. When he checked to see if the Elders were still there, he couldn't help but smirk. _Now, look who's such an admirable little boy scout_. It didn't surprise him that Marcus would come to Jenny's rescue. Marcus was Marcus and there was no changing him. Despite that they'd known each other for…how long?

Julian also knew Marcus was a flirt, and a distant corner of his mind hoped that had nothing to do with what Marcus wanted.

Seeing that Jenny was fine, he attempted to clear his mind. He looked at the blackness that surrounded him. It was a place where no one but lost souls went. There was nothing and no one present. Nothing to be seen, touched, heard, smelt, or tasted. He was in his own little hell, and, in a way, it was worse than a nightmare. A _very_ tedious nightmare.

A few moments later, he pulled his mind from Jenny's. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very off with the Elders behavior. They never went after prey without a claim; it was a waste of time because the people tended to get away. And their claim on Jenny was gone…wasn't it?

Maybe it was time to find a way out of here. And find Elena. She had a witch friend, didn't she? Or the Harmans'? They were powerful witches, were they? A few other names came to mind, but he couldn't be certain of any of them. For one of the first times in his life, Julian kept drawing blanks. His mind pulled him deeper into frustration and confusion. Whatever he was going to do, he knew he was going to need to be corporeal to do it. And, though witch magic could do make him solid, it wouldn't make him truly himself again.

For that, he'd need a demon.

* * *

Jenny set her jacket down on top of her suitcase and fell back onto her bed. It was a nice room. Though, Jenny suspected that because it was, as a matter of fact, Caesar's Palace, it had to be nice. The carpet was off-white with a nice brown pattern; leaves, most likely. Both beds, including the one Jenny was currently sprawled across, were covered in fluffy white blankets and pillows; the throw and dust skirt were the exact color of peanut butter. A thirty-two inch TV stood in a cabinet across from Jenny's bed. If she pushed herself off her bed slightly, she could see Dee mimicking her posture on the other bed. A writing desk sat across from Dee, almost like a physical representation of irony.

"So," Dee asked, staring up at the silvery walls. "What do you want to do now?"

Jenny pulled herself up, her long golden hair falling into her face, shielding her eyes as she looked at her best friend. Her mind didn't quite latch onto Dee's question, and she asked, "What do you mean?"

Dee sighed, also sitting up to lean against the butterscotch-colored headboard. With her smooth, dark skin and her short black hair she looked exactly like an Egyptian princess on her throne. "I mean, where do you want to _go_, Sunshine? Tom doesn't want you sitting in here, moping about him the entire time we're here." She looked Jenny in the eye a bit fiercely. "Audrey's probably spending all of Michael's money in the forum shops. Summer and Zach mentioned something about catching a show. We've gotta find something to do. I'm _not_ wasting _my_ time in Vegas."

Jenny considered the question for a long moment. She was tired and more than content to stay in the room all night, until they left in the morning. But she didn't want to stay alone. She wouldn't admit it, but the thought scared her.

"Let's just look around…."

Dee bounded up off the bed, looking ecstatic as she pulled a less-than-willing Jenny out the door.

Several hours, and _way_ too many drinks, later, Jenny stepped out of a small club and onto Fremont Street, Actually, it was a slightly shady side street near Fremont Street. As she closed the black painted door behind her, the sound of people yelling was cut off. Dee had gotten into an argument with a blond boy, who's name she thought was Ash, about whether or not they should be allowed into the VIP room. To be honest, Jenny didn't care if they were. What did it matter if they got into the Black Iris?

Jenny stumbled as she walked. Everything was blurry, but fast. Really fast. She stumbled again and giggled slightly. It was like she was moving through molasses, and the rest of the world was going by in fast-forward. Nothing really made much sense, but that was fine. Really, _really_ fine.

A car sped past as she walked, and Jenny stared at the headlights as though they were the prettiest things she'd ever seen. _Like pretty, pretty pixie lights…. _She frowned when it was gone and the street was dark again. The only sound in the world was the soft smack of her shoes on the hot pavement. She didn't noticed when three other pairs of footsteps echoed as well; Jenny was still in her own little world.

It was very sobering, however, when she was pushed face first into a wall. Her head hit the wall with a hollow thumping sound. Pain blossomed in her head, but Jenny was frozen; whether it was from shock or fear or anger or helplessness, she wasn't sure. _And there's no Julian to save you_, a distant, detached part of Jenny's mind realized as two pairs of rough hands kept her trapped against the wall.

"Just be nice and easy and this won't hurt a bit," a lecherous voice said from behind her. Jenny whimpered and another person laughed.

Jenny wanted to struggle, but a part of her knew it was no use. The boys were too strong, she was outnumbered, and she could _smell_ the pot smoke and liquor on them. They were still laughing as the one who'd spoken grabbed her waist.

And then _it_ happened.

The hand on Jenny's waist vanished. There was a nasty crack followed by a scream, two incredulous shouts, and the sickening thud of flesh on stone.

"Get away from the girl," a voice that could only belong to a dragon commanded.

"Holy shit!" one of the boys holding Jenny exclaimed, before they both dropped her.

There was a smack, a thud, and then another…and then silence.

Jenny couldn't move. She was frozen on her knees as her stomach turned and her head throbbed painfully. Soft footsteps barely echoed about the loud beating of her heart as they came slowly towards her. A gentle but insistent hand pulled her to her feet.

A soft, but oddly familiar voice inquired, "Hey, kid?"

Jenny vomited all over his shoes before looking up at her rescuer. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the brightest flash of gold.

* * *

Marcus stood frozen in shock for a long moment before looking down at the unconscious girl in his arms. While part of his mind shrieked about his shoes, the rest of him was amused. _Aww, lucky girl…she must be _really_ drunk._ Changing his shoes with a thought, he hesitated. He hadn't meant to knock the girl out. Well…not yet, anyway. Now, he wasn't quite sure what to do with her. This could be a problem. _Still, _he thought, _if Julian could see me now._ He smirked, but it was humorless. Marcus could already feel Julian's irritation.

_'Just take her to her room.'_

_Yes, dear. Yes, dear, _he replied, rolling his eyes. _It's not like blondes are my type, anyway_.

He attempted to distance his thoughts from Julian's as he leaned Jenny against the wall. In the few moments between getting Jenny's purse and returning to pick her up, Marcus decided that if thoughts could kill he'd be dead…like…exploded-into-tiny-bits dead. _You can stop whining now, your Highness_, Marcus thought dryly, picking Jenny up bridal style. Julian's reply was cut off as Marcus vanished.

They reappeared in a hotel room, and, after checking to make sure they were alone, Marcus dropped the purse on the floor and lay Jenny down on a bed. He needed her rational, and, admittedly, it had been a while since he'd used the runes for something like this. Since long before Julian had forced Jenny into the Games, as a matter of fact. He was used to dealing with things as a human. Which would have been funny, if he stopped and thought about it. _Let's see_, he thought before drawing two runes on Jenny's forehead. The glowed like the sun before sinking into her skin and vanishing.

Marcus hesitated again before brutally shoving Julian from his mind. _So awkward._ He didn't want to be murdered just yet.

Very carefully, Marcus undressed Jenny and carried her to the shower. It was one of the most awkward things he'd ever done…other than proposing, but that was another story. He held her under the shower and the water came on in an icy blast. He adjusted his hold on her, flinching slightly at the cold.

He couldn't help it, but, and maybe it had something to with the fact that he had a naked girl in his arms, he found himself looking, _really_ looking, at Jenny Thornton. Not at her body, but at her face. _What makes him act the way he does over you?_

Water ran though his shoulder-length hair and onto Jenny's face. The shadow man supposed she was pretty…for a human; though he wondered if that was really what she was. After a long moment of staring, he smiled.

_And, there it is._

Marcus had, unashamedly, had many girls, and men, in the last two thousand years. And though he didn't remember them all, he knew he loved each of them in his own way. The ones he remembered were special, though. They all had a certain…_something_. A spark or a feeling of magic that was inherently theirs. For example, the one he remembered the best was like fire, especially after she tried to burn him alive.

Jenny Thornton had that same something. It wasn't strong like fire, he decided. But subtle and untraceable; which explained it all, really.

The smell of alcohol and vomit faded, and Marcus carried her back to the bedroom, dressed her, and put her in bed. He sat down next to her and stretched in a catlike manner, his clothes somehow dry. Saving damsels was hard work; he was going to relax all he could.

At the very edges of his mind, he could feel Julian fuming, but he decided not to try and calm him down. He was the last person who ought to be teaching restraint, after all. Though, he did make a mental list that Julian now owed him two favors, one new outfit, and a video game to read. It was the least his 'brother' could do for him after saving his girl, right?

Leaning back against the headboard, Marcus hummed an odd melody, and settled in to wait.

* * *

It was about an hour later that Jenny woke up.

She didn't really feel like waking up; it was much more comfortable to just lie in the nice, warm bed. That was the delirium talking, she knew. After all, Jenny had no recollection of walking back to the room, and, if memory served, with the amount she and Dee had drunk, she shouldn't have been able to change into her pajamas and get into bed, much less walk all the way back to the room. Her mind was screaming at her about being stupid as she shifted in the white blankets. Funny, she couldn't remember what happened after she left the bar.

Jenny caught movement in her peripheral and quickly sat up. It wasn't the smartest of moves, and, it took all her willpower, and a reminder of how dizzy sitting up had made her, to not try to hit him.

It was _him_, the guy from her dream, and he was lounging on her bed, looking perfectly at home with one arm behind his head as he changed the channels on the television back and forth between the World Poker Tour and Spongebob. A compartment somewhere in her brain wondered how the two shows were related and why he'd have interest in both at the same time.

"You're awake," he stated softly, his expression peaceful.

Jenny, who'd been wondering why she felt neither drunk nor hung over, looked back at him warily. She supposed he wasn't going to try and take advantage of her, but she had no idea what he was doing here. Jenny pulled her blankets closer to her, subconsciously. The air was cold. Too cold. Jenny's breath turned to mist in the air. For a moment, her thoughts fell into a wild tumble. _The cold then the mist then the shadows then the eyes…._

"I'll take that as a yes." He clicked the television off and put the remote down before looking at her. He frowned for a second before the air went warmer. "Um…sorry, I lose track of myself at times."

The apologetic tone of his voice did nothing to cure Jenny of the blush on her cheeks. For some reason beyond her, his gaze was even more difficult to endure than Julian's had ever been. _Maybe because all those times were during the Games, and this time isn't._ Or…maybe it was because she didn't know _why_ he was staring.

"Who are you?" Jenny asked abruptly, trying not to run to the other side of the room. The she noticed something, and added, "And why is my hair wet?"

Much to her surprise, the shadow man's face went faintly pink. The blush lasted for the tiniest spilt second before disappearing. Obviously, he didn't know how to act around her.

Then he ruined it by saying, "You're savior. Your savior from…well, you can imagine what three men want when they push an unwilling girl against the wall." A slight but vicious smile curved his beautiful lips before it disappeared like the blush. "I brought you back. You smelled terrible, so I put you in the shower. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. You smell delicious as you are."

Jenny ignored his last comment, trying not to feel shocked or embarrassed that she'd been unconscious, or at least that's what she supposed she had been, in a shower with him. She hated to think of what he might have seen or done. _Freak out about it later_, her mind said. _Stay on topic now_.

"And your name?" she prompted.

"I guess you do need that," he muttered, sounding put out, before saying, "You couldn't pronounce my name even if I told you it. They call me Marcus, though."

"Marcus?" Jenny repeated skeptically. "That doesn't sound like a shadow man's name."

"Neither does Julian," Marcus shot back. If Jenny could hear his thoughts, she would have heard a very loud protest from the same shadow man whose name had just been mentioned.

Jenny flushed, again. "Julian is a play on aljunnu and djinn, and-" she cut herself off with a glare at the smirking boy next to her. "I don't have to talk about this stuff with you."

Jenny pushed herself to the edge of the bed and was about to stand, when he was suddenly in front of her, pushing her back down.

"No, you don't. You're going to stay here," Marcus said softly, insistently, into Jenny's ear. "Because I went through all that trouble to rescue you. And if you get up now, it's like slapping me and telling me that you'd rather be dead, raped, and mugged in an alley. Or…is that what you want?"

His tone suggested that he would arrange it for her if so, and Jenny stifled a growl. He was…ugh, so infuriating. And she'd only been talking to him for a few minutes. He also scared her. She didn't know what he would do if she didn't listen to him.

"Fine," she snapped and swung her legs back under the covers.

He laughed slightly, the cello-like quality of his voice going velvety as she sat down on the edge of her bed. He didn't let go of her hand.

The moment stretched for a while, and Jenny felt her irritation ebb, only to be replaced by exhaustion.

"You knew Julian?" she asked, trying not to yawn.

Marcus nodded, a secretive smile quirking his lips. "I do."

"Don't you mean 'did'?"

"No," Marcus said, still smiling. "Why don't you go to sleep?"

Jenny shook her head, and murmured tiredly, "Can't…nightmares."

"Go to sleep, Jenny." The shadow man's voice went hypnotic. "When you wake up tomorrow, you'll think this has all been a dream. One of your nightmares, perhaps. Then you'll realize you control your reality, what you think and what you dream. So, go to sleep…and forget."

He couldn't help but smirk as Jenny's eyes closed and she fell backwards, completely asleep. At least his runes still worked.

"Did you have to influence her so strongly?" came a musical, but irritated, voice from one of the mahogany leather chairs by the window.

Marcus moved away from Jenny to lean against the wall, and looked idly at the spectral image of Julian.

"Of course I did. She's too stubborn for anything else. _You_ know how hard it is to get her to believe reality is only a dream."

Julian's oddly blue eyes narrowed as if he disagreed, but he didn't say anything. He just watched Jenny with an incredibly warm and tender expression.

Memories of something from his past was all that kept Marcus from making a snarky comment about it, though he did sigh, roll his eyes, and cross his arms across his chest. He looked down at his arms, silently memorizing the silver buttons on his black shirt. _Women._ What could you do about them?

"So," Marcus started, trying to lessen the awkwardness he suddenly felt, "you can only interact with things at midnight?"

Julian's head shot up as though he'd forgotten Marcus was there. He glanced at the clock. 12:03. He nodded once. "I can stay for three hours."

The silent plea for him to watch her the rest of the day didn't miss Marcus, though he decided not to comment on it. Of course, he'd watch her for the rest of the day. That was a given.

"It's odd, isn't it?" Marcus observed. "Do you really think the Elders are planning something?"

"They wouldn't be the Elders if they weren't."

Marcus nodded once. "That thing you asked me about…I think I'm going to see what I can figure out about it…. There has to _someone_ on this plane of existence who has some answers."

He pushed off from the wall with a tired sigh, his long hair swinging about his shoulders.

Julian smiled slightly. "Marcus?"

Marcus looked at him, his expression somewhere between forced exasperation and amusement.

"I don't owe you anything, 'brother'."

Marcus just laughed as he vanished.

* * *

**AN: **If you have been waiting for an update on this fic for the last year...and are wondering why it's suddenly so short...go read Chapter 1's AN, please. ^^. Please read and reveiw!


	3. Thinking Before Acting Is Advised

**Chapter Three**

_What a strange dream…._

Jenny woke up rather stiffly. Dee was still asleep. With a yawn, Jenny ran a hand through the wavy ridges of her amber hair, mussing it worse that it already was, before dragging herself out of bed with a heavy sigh. When she peeked out of the curtains, Jenny could see it was still dark outside. The lights of the Strip winked and twinkled at her against the deep, dark blue of the predawn sky. The heavy beige curtains swung closed, eliminating the lights, and she padded across the rough carpet and into the bathroom.

The bathroom was impressive. The floor, sinks, and shower were made of white marble. All the metal in the room was gold. And there was a seventeen-inch TV mounted onto one of the walls. Jenny, however, was too tired to appreciate it and the light burned her sleep-filled eyes when she turned it on. The floor chilled her feet and made her shiver as she closed the door.

Jenny yawned and pulled her nightgown, a simple ivory sheath-dress, off before stepping into the shower. The water came on, freezing cold, and Jenny quickly turned the HOT tab on. She sighed as steam poured lazily out of the showerhead. Jenny tried to put her thoughts in order as she washed her hair.

The last thing she remembered was walking out of that club, and then…she must have gone back to the room. She had to. Even though she didn't remember doing so. Everything past leaving Dee and Ash to argue was fuzzy and blurry. Bits and pieces of memory came to her. Her face rushing to meet the cement wall. Hands holding her still. A thud that made her want to gag. Soft footsteps and equally soft hands. The brightest gold and a beautiful boy sitting on her bed. A soft melodic voice in her ear. And blackness. Blackness where her dreams should have been.

She frowned as she washed her body. Only one word really stood out in her head. Marcus. Was Marcus the boy? The one who told her to call for him if she was in trouble? She didn't know. Her mind refused to remember and she didn't like it.

Jenny turned off the shower and dried off as quickly as she could with the rough, pedestrian white towel. Her mind was still half asleep as she brushed out her long hair and pulled on her ragged old jeans and a teal v-neck shirt. Jenny left her towel on the counter and put all her toiletry things in their bag before going back into the bedroom.

To her surprise, Dee was still sound asleep. All Jenny could see of her was the back of her head and her military-short hair. _She must not be feeling very good,_ Jenny thought, sparing half a thought as to why she wasn't hung over herself.

The phone rang. Jenny stopped in the midst of repacking her suitcase. It rang again, blaringly loud against the earlier silence. After a puzzled second, she picked it up.

"Hello?"

Static. That was all there was at the other end. Then…the dial tone. _Wrong number_, Jenny decided. A slight tingling went through her fingers and shoulder blades as she hung it up and went back to her suitcase.

And then the phone rang again. Jenny frowned, starting to feel a little peeved. Maybe not a wrong number…maybe prank callers. The girl picked up the phone, subconsciously noticing that Dee wasn't waking up.

"Hello?" she said again, letting her irritation creep back into her voice.

More static. And then…. Jenny nearly dropped the phone. She thought, just before the dial tone started, that she'd heard a whisper. A _really_ creepy whisper. She couldn't make out what it was saying, though. And, with that ever-so-pleasing thought, Jenny hung up again.

Not five minutes later, as Jenny was zipping up her suitcase for a final time and pondering opening the curtains, the phone rang again. Jenny's head shot up. Dee grumbled something incoherent and covered her head with her extra pillow. Jenny picked up the phone and hesitantly put it to her ear.

"H-hello?"

"Hello. Is this Miss Thornton or Miss Eliade?" a perky woman's voice asked.

"Um…yes, this is Jenny Thornton."

"Good morning, Miss Thornton. This is hotel concierge with your seven fifteen wake up call."

"Thanks," Jenny said awkwardly.

"Have a nice day."

The cheery woman on the other end hung up and so did Jenny. She tried to make her skin stop crawling. _I've got to wake up Dee,_ she thought blankly, walking over to the girl in question and shaking her slightly.

"Dee? We've got to get up and get ready to go. Come on, Dee."

Jenny shook Dee for another couple of minutes before Dee _finally_ woke up and walked sluggishly into the bathroom. The blond watched the news as she waited, wondering why the TV had been on a cartoon channel when she turned it on. Dee came back into the room nearly twenty minutes later, her hair glistening like mica and her dark skin looking slightly ashy.

Jenny guessed the shower hadn't helped much.

It was another ten minutes before Dee had laced her high-tops on, zipped her suitcase shut, and they were heading to the elevators. The unease Jenny had felt earlier, melted away as the doors closed behind them, and she chatted with Dee softly, making a mental note to see if she could find her some aspirin. Jenny decided not to mention all the weirdness that seemed to have happened since they got there. She didn't want to worry her friends, and, more importantly, she wanted to pretend it hadn't happened. She couldn't pretend if everyone knew.

Zach, Tom, Audrey, Michael, and Summer met them in the lobby. Zachary was holding Summer's hand and was wearing faded jeans and a black button-down shirt that contrasted nicely with Summer's vibrant yellow and green sundress. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be making Zach uncomfortable, though Summer didn't seem to notice. Tom looked a bit green in his sports jacket and shorts. He smiled slightly at Jenny, who smiled back happily. He'd always look good to her, even when he had food poisoning. Michael looked as rumpled as ever as he held Audrey's suitcase and looked over a map. And Audrey…. Audrey was wearing a short, emerald-green satin dress that was nearly skintight and covered in a layer of black lace; on anyone else, it would have looked completely inappropriate. Audrey had been crazy about it, but refused to buy it (since it wasn't black or white) until Jenny talked her into it. She looked like a model as they all said good morning and joked about Dee and her hang over—something Dee was less than happy about. It was pretty much a consensus that Jenny must have a high-tolerance for liquor to not be just as badly off.

Jenny didn't quite agree.

They were halfway through the casino when something happened. Michael jumped slightly, and looked toward the Wheel of Fortune like a rabbit in the headlights. Jenny and the others stopped and looked at him.

"What is it, Michael?" Audrey asked sweetly, maneuvering her free hand into his.

"I…didn't you guys hear that, too?"

The universal reply was, "No."

"What'd you hear, Mikey?" Dee asked, looking tired but ready for anything.

"I thought I heard someone call my name." Michael went on before anyone could stop him, "Just before the guy said, 'Step right up to the Wheel of Fortune. You'll never know what you'll land on.' It was…." he trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

"Odd," Zach finished, a small frown of worry creasing his brow. He exchanged looks with Summer as they started again.

_Try a spin, Jenny. Just one spin and you could lose your soul…._

Jenny shook the voice off. _No one else heard it. Don't listen to them,_ she told herself. _They can't do anything to you. Not here._

"There are a lot of Michaels' in the world," Summer was saying as everyone tried to reassure Michael that nothing was wrong. Except, if they were being honest, they weren't trying to reassure Michael…they were trying to reassure themselves.

"Hey," a guy said to Michael, stopping the group once more. He had sandy blond hair, and Jenny thought he looked like a jock. "How much'd you pay for her?"

After a moment, Michael blushed, realizing that the guy was talking about Audrey, who suddenly looked angry. "Um…I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Jenny looked over at Tom and Zach, who both looked tense, and, though puzzled, Jenny had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

"C'mon, man. I meant, how much didja have to pay to get her to _screw_ you?"

It was instant chaos. Dee nearly leapt at the guy, and it took the combined efforts of Jenny, Tom, and Zach to hold her back. Summer looked aghast as she tried to tell everyone to calm down, Michael stunned and staring blankly. Audrey looked furious and beautiful and like she wanted hit him over the head with her designer heels.

"He doesn't have to pay me anything, you stupid boy," Audrey snapped. "I wonder how much anyone would take before they 'screwed' your ugly face!"

"So you're his lapdog, you fake bitch? He teach you tricks? Teach you how to fight his battles. You dumb whore, you couldn't-"

**_Smack!_**

Michael punched him, knocking the guy out cold in one hit. Coins scattered with cheerful clinks. Summer stopped trying to calm everyone down and Jenny, Tom, and Zach finally let go of, a now unmoving, Dee. Eyes wet, Audrey hugged Michael, who looked stunned with himself.

"Wow, Mikey," Dee said, sounding like she was trying to joke. "Who knew you had a great right hook?"

Michael laughed slightly, a fake, strained sound.

"I think we should go," Summer added meekly.

She was right, of course. There's a reason hotels have security, after all.

They left their keys at the concierge desk and waited for their rental cars. Dee helped Michael load up the Chrysler before getting in with Audrey and Summer. They left with a quick beep of the horn, and Jenny took a moment to wave before helping Tom and Zach with all the major pieces of luggage. Audrey had a lot of bags.

Jenny slid into the front seat next to Zach's and looked out the window. Her cousin started the car, and, for some reason, the sound of the engine was soothing. Jenny frowned. She'd been right. Things _had_ happened. Why didn't she feel so good about Tahoe, then?

* * *

Marcus cast a glance around his study and sighed. Anyone who knew him well would know he was upset based on one fact alone: he was playing the piano. He only did that when he was trying to keep himself from hurting someone. The giant candy dish nearly him was purely coincidental…or so he'd say if anyone was around to ask.

The truth was he had no idea what to do. The shadow man looked around the bright, sunlit room again, his fingers dancing across the keys, and he fought the urge to hit something. His study has always calmed him down before. But now it wasn't helping.

The house was mainly glass and metal, so open and airy it almost seemed out of character for him. It was surrounded by a nearly impassible patch of forest that made him feel comfortably isolated. It also served good strategic purposes. He needed as much of a strategy as possible, being in exile for the last two thousand years. But this place…was his sanctuary. It had never failed him yet.

_This isn't working! _he thought angrily, getting up and kicking the bench into the nearest wall. It bounced harmlessly off the steel and tipped over, sending sheet music cascading over the ground and sent a small brass pocket watch skidding across the floor to hide almost under a book case. Marcus angrily pushed his hair from his face. _Stupid. Stupid. Not the piano's fault._

He stalked over to the bench, righted it, and, ignoring the papers, went to pick up the watch.

Julian had left him with quite the riddle. Marcus was wondering if he could solve it. He'd spent his entire three hours the night before asking every powerful witch, and even a few non-witches, he knew of for answers. There had been none. He didn't care what Elena Gilbert said or how much of a plan she had…Julian was screwed. Royally, utterly _fucked_. Because the consensus was that a non-human entity couldn't be brought to life. So, without the Runestave or a demon, Julian would stay in purgatory; unable to move either way.

Marcus almost felt sorry for him. But, above all, he felt sorry for Jenny. She didn't even realize in just how much trouble she was in.

The shadow man broodingly flipped open the watch. To anyone else, it would have runes in the place of numbers, but he new what it was. A twist on a very old object. A looking glass, to be specific. Judging by the projected image, Jenny was sound asleep. He'd have to keep a closer eye on her; you could get into more trouble asleep than awake, after all. He knew that better than most.

Darkness seemed to spread over the room, and Marcus looked out the window, snapping the watch shut at the same moment. Heavy cloud-cover had blocked out the blue blue sky. Most people would have thought it was weird for a cloudless sky to get so dark so quickly, but he knew why. Something was coming. Marcus decided it was time to play again. He hadn't played in ages, but it was always fun to lead others on a wild goose chase. Prey, he had long ago decided, had a lot of influence on the predators; naturally, he was obliged to test the limits of his hunters. _Play time._

A long, drawn out howl echoed far off in the distance and Marcus smirked. _Time to go_.


	4. Resolve

**Chapter Four**

She was running.

_Out on your own…_

Gravel, dirt, and pine needles scattered beneath her feet as rabbits and chipmunks that heard her approaching ran to take shelter under bushes.

_…Cold and alone again…_

The only sounds in the world she could hear were the pounding of her heart and the crunching of her feet. Her legs burned with exertion.

_…Can this be what you really wanted, baby?_

She wanted to stop, but she knew she couldn't. The temperature dropped dangerously low as she skidded into the house, her blond hair flowing behind her like a banner.

_Blame it on me…_

She felt like a coward and decided she should have never left them alone. If they were dead now, it was her fault. Just like it was her fault about the others.

_…Set your guilt free…_

Guilt pooled into her stomach, hot and heady. The girl slammed the door behind her and fumbled with the lock a long moment before it finally locked. She backed away, into the stair banister, as an odd hammering and scratching sound began.

_…Nothing can hold you back now._

She ran down the worn cellar stairs, nearly slipping. "Guys! Guys, they're here!"

_Now that you're gone…_

"Now?" the strange boy repeated, looking stunned. His grip on the bloody knife in his hand slackened.

_…I feel like myself again…_

"Yes! Now!" she shouted, locking the cellar door behind her and rushing into the room.

_…Grieving the things I can't repair, and willing…_

The runes glowed a rusty red on the floor; a large vortex of flashing light spun in the center.

"We don't have enough time," the other boy said, with a significant look at the other girl.

_…To let you blame it on me…_

"It's my fault. I should have drawn them out slower."

_…And set your guilt free…_

It was the boys' turn to exchange looks as they said, "You did fine."

"We have thirty seconds," the first boy announced.

_…I don't want to hold you back now, love._

The front door fell to the floor with a bang that resounded through the house. "Hide, kid."

"Come with me. Both of you," she said pleadingly. "We can finish this some other time."

_I can't change who I am._

"No," the second boy said. "Just go. We'll be alright."

_Not this time, I won't lie to keep you near me…_

She gave up and nodded resolutely. The pounding moved to the cellar door, splintering the wood as it echoed her heart beat.

_…And in this short life, there's not time to waste on giving up…_

"Finish it."

The first boy stared at him blankly, now unsure.

"Finish it, Marcus!"

_…My love wasn't enough._

Hot tears burned her eyes as she ran into her 'panic room'.

_And you can blame it on me…_

The door crashed open and flew across the room as the runes flared and vanished. Pitch black mist poured like liquid in the room, consuming everything in its path. The final rune was carved and a blinding light filled the room; ripping, tearing. Shredding time and space.

_…Just set your guilt free, honey…_

"Jenny!"

_…I don't want to hold you back now, love._

**_"Julian!"_**

Jenny's breath hitched as she, once again, woke up in a moving car. It was music from the radio that had been playing in her nightmare. The garish shredding noise was pebbles and dust blowing against the windshield. Jenny sighed slightly, shifting in her seat. She turned slightly, smiling when she saw Tom was sleeping. She turned back to her cousin, who was fiddling with the radio.

"How long have we been driving?"

"Seven hours. At the next rest stop we're switching drivers. If you want, I'll let Dee or Audrey drive so you can get more sleep."

"No," Jenny shook her head. "I'll drive next." She hesitated. "Unless you want to go see Summer?"

"I'll see her when we get there."

His voice sounded nearly dead, and Jenny hesitated again, not quite sure what was going on. She looked out the window at the scrubby brown desert that seemed to slowly be fading to farm-like greenery. The ground seemed to go on forever until it touched the sky.

"Zach?" Jenny inquired quietly. "Is…everything alright? Between you and Summer, I mean."

Zach didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the road, looking fixedly ahead.

Jenny watched him discreetly. He seemed…odd. His posture too stiff, his expression too hard. His movements seemed almost angry or frustrated. Jenny wondered what was wrong there.

They didn't speak again until Jenny was driving.

"We're just so different," Zachary said suddenly.

Jenny shot him a questioning look before returning her eyes to the road in front of her. Tom was still asleep.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…." Not used to explaining his emotions, Zach struggled a moment before continuing, "She's materialistic, I'm not. She's so clingy, and I'm not. I have to tell her everywhere I'm going to be so that if she calls the house and I'm not there, she doesn't freak out. She's too naïve." He pushed a stray lock of hair out of his face and tightened his ponytail. "I don't know. We're just…incompatible."

Jenny felt stricken, her expression blank. She hadn't been aware that Summer and Zach were having problems. In fact, she didn't even think that _Summer_ was aware that they were having problems. She wondered just how Zach was going to explain this to her.

Zach opened a bag of Doritos and ate one with a muted crunch before rummaging in his camera bag. After a long moment, he straightened up again and, when Jenny glanced at him, she was surprised to see that he was holding a slightly scorched, very battered thirty five millimeter camera. _Wow, you kept that?_ Jenny hadn't seen him take any photographs with that particular camera since the Games. It was interesting, to her, that he had it with him now.

"Can I ask you something?" Zach inquired almost nervously as he fiddled with the lens.

Jenny felt a wave of wariness wash over her. "What?"

"During the Games," he began, not looking at Jenny, who had stiffened at his words, "well…Dee said that in the Tunnel of Love and Despair, you said you cared about Julian. And I wanted to know…do you?"

Jenny nodded stiffly. They rarely talked about the Games, and Jenny found herself wishing that they had never gotten on the subject.

"How much?"

"Why do you care, Zachary?" Jenny shot back defensively. She was always defensive when they talked about the Games. That didn't mean she didn't feel guilty about snapping, though. And when Zach didn't answer, Jenny said in a subdued voice, "I'm not sure. I…I love-_loved _the part of him that would risk himself for me. That gave me my friends back and kept his word." _That wanted to change._ "But…I hate that he put us through the Games. And how he took you and Tom away from me." _I don't know what I'd do without you guys if I never got you back. Then again, sometimes I don't know what I'm doing without _him_…. _"I hate that he would rather kill all of you than see me happy with someone else."

"Tom would rather kill Julian again than see you with him," Zach put in.

Jenny nodded her affirmation. As much as she didn't want to admit it…it was true. Did that say something about her? Or them? That both of them would rather see her miserable than happy with the other? _At least they have _one thing _in common,_ the cynical side of her thought. She still didn't see what they saw in her. Random scraps of memory floated through her mind.

_You're **good**. Too good. . . . Aba would say your soul is straight. . . . Just like a Girl Scout. Sweet and simple and honest. . . . Simple as light and air–things people take for granted but that they'd die without. . . . Sure I have to worry about you, Thorny. Just like you worry about me. . . . I want her for goodness' sake. Light to my darkness. You'll see–Tommy. . . ._

"Jenny?"

Zach's concerned voice jolted her back to the present. Jenny glanced in the rearview mirror, making sure there were no cars behind them and that Tom was still asleep all at once, before signaling into another lane.

"I'm sorry," Jenny said with a soft sigh. She blushed slightly. "I zoned out for a moment."

Her cousin nodded and, slowly, carefully resumed cleaning the camera's lens. Jenny started to relax in the absence of conversation. Maybe she wouldn't have to talk about this much more, after all.

"You know," Zach started thoughtfully, "you and Julian would never have been able to be together."

Jenny gave him a look that plainly asked him to explain.

"Human's need light to survive. Light kills shadow men, doesn't it? Either world you two lived in would eventually kill the other." He slipped the lens cap onto the camera with a small _click _and started to put the camera up. "I wonder why he didn't realize that."

"No idea," she whispered.

That wasn't quite true.

_I couldn't see anything else, couldn't hear anything else. All I could think about was you._ Julian had told her that after she'd nearly drowned in that mine shaft. Jenny had never really thought about it extensively, but she supposed it made sense. After all, how many times had she fooled him by making him think she would return his love?

"Would you go with him?"

"You mean, if he showed up right now and asked me?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know…but I'd consider it."

They fell silent again, and neither of them noticed Tom watching them. His green-flecked hazel eyes were sad and a miserable frown had settled on his face. He closed his eyes again and resumed feigning sleep, trying to keep away the dark thoughts that were attempting to take up residence in his head.

* * *

"Whoa."

It was nearly dusk and they were standing in front of Audrey's parent's vacation home. Or…one of them, anyway. It was huge. A two-story masterpiece of stone and wood surrounded by thick trees. The air smelled like summer camp and rain.

"It's just so…whoa," Michael said again. The others, with the exception of Audrey, nodded in agreement.

"Help," Audrey, who was trying to lift one of her many heavy suitcases, called from the back of one of the cars. Michael immediately went to save her.

Jenny, Zach, and Tom went to work on unloading their car. Jenny thought Tom was oddly silent and, when she asked him what was on his mind, he didn't answer. She waited until everyone had claimed a room, and dragged her luggage up to her allotted room with a heavy heart.

The room was nice enough. The walls were the blue-green of aquamarine and the bed-frame was brass. The bed looked reasonably comfy, all white linen sheets, fluffy pillows, and blankets. The best part was the view. The house was built on a hillside, and Jenny's room faced out over the drop. She wondered how the view changed if you were in the cellar. She probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

She took her time unpacking; sitting on the bed and refolding everything so it would be neat in the heavy white-washed dresser near the closet. Try as she might, she couldn't banish the feeling that bad things were about to happen. It was odd. So far, nothing had happened besides a couple of arguments over who got what room. But that didn't explain why Jenny had a horrible, crushing feeling of déjà vu.

Still drawing it out, Jenny put her clothes away, slid her suitcases under her bed, and went to mess with her things in the bathroom. She could hear the other's voices from various points in the house but couldn't make out what they were saying. Something about the rise and fall of them was soothing, though, and Jenny tried to relax.

Of course, that plan was ruined when she happened to glance at her hand and caught site of Julian's ring. Which brought up a whole new problem emotion: guilt. She wouldn't betray Julian's memory and all that he'd changed, for both better and worse, by taking it off…but she still needed to figure out what to do. It was like the morning after the third Game all over again. The same insecurity and awkwardness was coursing through her veins.

She decided, as she stood with hands on either side of the sink, that she needed to think about this.

On one hand, she felt like she was…betraying Tom by dwelling on Julian. She loved him, right? So why was she still hung up on Julian? It was wrong, wasn't it? She shouldn't be thinking about him. He was dead, and Tom wasn't and that was that. But on the other hand, she knew something wasn't quite right between her and Tom. Something was missing, and Jenny wasn't sure it had ever been there. So, she wasn't sure what was gone…just that they didn't have it. Was it wrong to stay with Tom when something about their relationship felt…empty?

Jenny, who'd been worrying her lip as she thought, accidentally bit too hard, nearly drawing blood. She gasped and closed her eyes until the stinging faded. After a moment, she came to a decision.

After the third Game, she'd given up not thinking about Julian. Kind of had to, actually. Well…now she would. No dwelling on him and the Games, no talking about it, and especially no dreaming about it. That would be her new rule. The last bit was going to be the hardest, though. After all, who could decide what they dreamt?

But she didn't want to do this anymore. She didn't want to cower behind Julian's memory, forever thinking of "what if?" She wanted to keep moving forward. She had to…or else she'd probably go nuts.

"Jenny? Where are you, _cherie_?" Audrey called from the hall.

Jenny gathered her resolved, now devoted to her new rule, and headed off to see what Audrey wanted. She felt oddly calm as she bustled around the kitchen, helping everyone figure out what groceries they'd need and where things should go. A tiny crack appeared in her calm appearance when Tom, Dee, and Michael left to get groceries and Tom didn't give her a proper goodbye. She pretended otherwise and volunteered to get the mail when she saw the looks Audrey and Summer exchanged over it.

Outside, everything felt peaceful. Serene. The air was warm, the breeze fragrant, and if she looked behind the house from just the right spot…Jenny could see a large sliver of deep blue; the lake. She stared at it for a long time, not really thinking, before remembering her task. All that was in the mailbox was a fuchsia flyer advertising a party that was supposed to take place the next day. Jenny wondered who the Redferns were and made a mental note to tell Audrey so they could all go. As she walked back into the house, an odd prickle of worry came over her, though she didn't know why.

A pair of yellow eyes watched her closely from the forest.

* * *

Across the country, the sky was dark and the moon had yet to rise. A group of people made their way through Fell's Church's cemetery. They seemed very calm for a group of apparent teenagers with only a few flashlights to light their way. Most of the group seemed to be joking about something.

No one paid the crow above them any heed; he was part of the group, too.

They wound their way through tombstones and over-grown plants looking for the empty ground at the very edge of the cemetery. As they reached it, they suddenly went quiet. It was as if something huge and menacing was suddenly hovering over them, pulling their collective good cheer from their very souls.

Instead of something dropping out of the sky, a boy appeared in the beam of one of the flashlights. He looked like he was holding a large branch and the girl at the head of the group smiled. They were opposites, she was golden haired and blue-eyed to his black hair and gold eyes, but they both seemed oddly united. Like this was something they'd been waiting for.

The boy tossed the branch into the middle of the large circle carved into the ground and his smile widened. "Ready? Let's get started then, children."

* * *

**AN:** Oooh, look! I'm updating a day early! 'Nyway. I finished NaNo and, from now on, will be updating once to twice a week. I haven't completely finished the fic yet, but it's about...eighty percent done. I don't know if I've told y'all this before, but it makes me so happy to see how well you guys are receiving this fic. Thank you so much for your kind words and your words of encouragement. You guys are what push me to keep writing and to keep getting better. So please review and give concrit and keep pushing me. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Til next time!


	5. Rebirth

**Chapter Five**

It was like being born, he decided.

Energy, enough to power all the worlds for the rest of eternity, coursed through him. Every sense was amplified to its limit. There were no boundaries and no rules. No guilt. No conscience. Nothing but the liquid feeling of power rushing through him. In the back of his mind he was aware of pain and cold and a nagging feeling that there was something, _someone_, he needed to remember. But he didn't want to, and he pushed the thoughts away.

He took a tentative step forward, feeling the reverberations of his movement through his whole body. His muscles worked properly; no, far better than that. A frightening smile curved his lips. This was nice. Very nice, indeed. Fire and water, wind and lightning coursed through his veins in a dizzying high. Time and space seemed to be moving at incredibly high speeds, and not at all. And this power…was like love and hate, death and life, fear and desire. A contradiction; a dizzying, mind-blowing contradiction that made him feel like he was hovering somewhere between torturous pain and orgasmic ecstasy…

…Until he remembered his Elders and the overwhelming urge to kill, to destroy, took over him.

Someone cursed and he spun around. It was then that he noticed the semicircle of people around him.

There were six, that he could see, and their expressions ranged from terror to clinical dispassion to appreciation. They all stood just outside a circle of what seemed to be powdered chalk mixed with salt and ash. The same circle he was currently trapped in. A girl with slightly curly red hair stared at him, her brown eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe. A blond boy, who reminded him of someone, watched him with blue eyes that were hard, but uncertain. Then another girl, a brunette with long hair and olive skin, was looking at him with an almost forced lack of interest. The last two boys looked very similar. One was tall with thick, dark, curly hair and green eyes that reminded him of someone else's eyes. The other was shorter and his straight black hair gleamed like an oil slick. But, where the tall one looked torn between angst and worry, the shorter looked like he was getting ready to watch a good show.

He turned to the last girl and felt familiarity flash through him momentarily. She was pretty with long golden blond hair and deep, dark blue eyes. She surprised him, though. She didn't look surprised or worried or angsty. She looked…comfortable. As it this were all normal. Clearly, she was the one in charge of this.

The boy started towards her, noticing that the boy with curly hair had started to take towards _him_.

"Let me out," he hissed dangerously.

"No, Julian. I can't let you out just yet," she said firmly. Her expression never wavered.

_Julian? _he thought_. Is that my name?_

"Let me out now, or you _will_ regret it," he repeated. Energy seemed to gather around him, stronger than before, as the blond boy resumed whispering. They were locking him in, and he couldn't figure out how. Something in the back of his mind said he'd never seen magic like this before. But, somehow, he still knew it was there. _If they don't let me out soon, I swear I'll kill them all._

"Hey, Julian?" _You don't want to do that, bro._

The thought came to mind as Julian turned in the direction of the voice and saw a boy he hadn't noticed before. Odd, that someone could blend in so completely with the night. _Kin_, his mind whispered. _He's much older than you…you could never win here._

"So, Jules…how's Jenny?" the older shadow man said pointedly with an obvious smirk.

_Jenny? Who-? _The thought didn't have a chance to even form properly before the twin demons of realization and remembrance crashed into him with all the force and mercilessness of a Mack truck. Memories spun out of control so quickly that he thought he might go mad. And all he could see was Jenny.

Jenny opening the closet door, green eyes wide and fearful. Jenny lying on the floor, creaming and crying and not letting anyone touch her. Jenny, curled up in her bed, half-hidden under the covers from watchful eyes. Jenny, rescuing some animal or another. Jenny going into a bad part of town and him having to follow close by to keep people from hurting her. Jenny holding the Game and wearing a look that suggested he was insane. The look of fear on her face when Jenny realized that something was not quite right with the Game. Jenny crying after Summer died. The first time he was able to kiss her as he masqueraded as her cousin. Slipping the ring on Jenny's finger and feeling triumphant as he kissed her to seal the vow. The closet door being slammed in his face and him being trapped and angry and humiliated and, underneath it all, impressed that she'd managed to out-smart him. Dancing with Jenny at the prom. Influencing Jenny to think that she was dreaming when she wasn't so he could give her clues. Being tricked and pushed into the vortex, but this time not feeling so impressed with her. The sick feeling in his gut as Jenny and Tom made up before going back into his base to save the others. Tripping Zach so he would have leverage for another game. Jenny looking terrified as she, Audrey, Michael, and Dee flew to Pittsburgh. Pulling her out of the freezing water in the Pit and knowing it was probably too late as he tried to save her. Standing in that side room and feeling like his heart just might be breaking as Jenny thanked him ecstatically for giving Summer back. Revealing everyone's deepest secrets in the Tunnel of Love and Despair. _We are not worms._ Jenny saying she cared for him. Losing all remaining interest in the Game as she picked up her final coin and he started to wonder _exactly_ what he was doing. _Of course I'm watching; that's what I do_. The Elders appearing as he tried to force Tommy to get Jenny out of there before he did something they'd all regret. Realizing the Elders were going to kill Jenny and her friends and that he had to do _something_, because dying was painless but loosing Jenny would be hell. Sacrificing himself and being carried back to Jenny's world as he died. Jenny laughing, smiling, crying, yelling.

It was _always_ Jenny.

Julian blinked as the world swam back into focus. It was dark and the stars spread out in every direction far above him. There were trees all around, but on one side there was a cemetery. The moon had barely risen and it was just short of full, bathing them in silvery light.

"Elena?" he asked wearily, his voice hoarse.

She smiled brightly, and nearly everyone looked relieved. Except Damon…who looked a bit disappointed.

"You're back."

It wasn't a question, and Julian, feeling as if on display in a bad way, nodded once and made to step out of the circle.

"No!" several voices, including Marcus's, shouted.

"You have to put this on," Elena said, holding up a necklace of sorts.

Wanting to inspect it before he even considered putting it on, Julian took it from her and felt slightly more grounded. More…_human? _He looked at it closer and realized it was made of beads. The style of it was similar to mala beads, with sandalwood and various gems in an alternating pattern. He recognized bloodstone, onyx, and chrysoprase among them. If he took the time to study it more in depth and test its limits, he would have realized it was one of the most powerful healing objects he's ever held in his life. Deciding a show of trust was in order or he'd be stuck in the circle all night, Julian wrapped it around his wrist several times.

Elena stepped back so he could exit.

"It worked," the redhead, Bonnie, said in an awed voice.

_Big surprise, that, _Marcus thought to him sarcastically.

"Of course it worked. We only talked to…how many witches, again?" Meredith, the brunette, quipped cynically as Damon turned back into a crow, flew onto a nearby branch, and preened his feathers, now thoroughly bored.

"Druid, not a witch," Bonnie snapped. "There's a difference."

"Not very much of one," Julian and Marcus said simultaneously.

Bonnie glared at them. Meredith and the blond boy, Matt, gave them looks that bordered on reverent, and Elena gave a silvery laugh as she looked Julian up and down. Stefan glowered and seemed to ready himself for a fight.

"Everything work?" Elena inquired, still looking at him.

"Yes. Thank you…for bringing me back."

Marcus raised his eyebrows.

_Shut up, Marcus. You don't want to get me angry right now, _Julian thought to him. He didn't like thanking people. It was too…odd, and he didn't have the need to most times. But even he knew you had to thank the people who brought you back, less they decide to lock you away again. "Are we done here?"

Elena nodded. "Marcus said he'd fill you in…if we did all the hard work and brought you back."

"Hard work?" Marcus pouted. "Who helped get you the spell?"

Elena gave him a catty smile in answer.

Marcus rolled his eyes and turned to Julian. "There's a lot we need to talk about, so we might want to go. Something tells me you're not going to like most of what I have to tell you."

* * *

**AN:** Oooh, a short chapter with a cliffie. Sorry about that. ^^; But! But look! It's all Julian! That makes up for it, yes? No? Didn't think so. Might update on Friday as compensation. I hope you enjoyed this chapt. So, Julian's back...whatever will he do now? (I know, it's a question with an obvious answer, but my brain's hurting. x_x) I hope I've replied to everyone's reveiws...if I haven't, please poke me a few times. I also need something to keep Marcus from running off mid chapter so please reveiw and leave candy, cattle prods, or...other things so I may restrain him and get chapters written faster. Til next time, my dears!

P.S. Would you guys like me to start posting names of songs in different chapters or the mythology/inspiration behind certain bits at the end of my author's notes? I'll try and keep it as short as possible, if so.


	6. Come Back

**Chapter Six**

Jenny dragged a brush through her hair, frizzing the elaborate curls she had laboriously created. The effect was oddly ethereal and airy. Nice. She set the brush down with a slight clicking sound and shimmied into her dress. It was silvery-grey and made of jersey material. If Audrey had still been in the house, Jenny would have been scolded for pulling her pine green leggings on under it. But it was cool out, Jenny wasn't sure how cool it would get, and Audrey wasn't there, so Jenny felt justified in doing so. Her black, patent leather ballet flats barely made a sound as she walked to the door. She would have borrowed a pair of Audrey's heels, but she really didn't feel like sharing a car with Tom.

_Tom…. _The thought of him was both a comfort and something that made her very sad. She just couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He'd been distant the entire day no matter what Jenny did. He wasn't being…cold, though. Just…odd. Too polite. Like the way her parents had been the last time they got into a fight. _But we didn't have a fight. _Maybe she had said something wrong? She couldn't figure it out, though. _Then again_, her mind added, _he's been odd for the last year…. _Jenny forced herself to stop thinking like that. She was treading awfully close to the one topic she'd said she wouldn't think about.

She forced her more negative thoughts out of her mind and focused on not falling down the stairs as she headed down them. The house was silent, almost eerily so, as Jenny made her way to the front door. She locked it behind her and slipped the extra key in her shoe. It was already dark and clouds partially obscured the starry sky. Jenny had been right; it was cool out.

Jenny's shoes made a slight squishing noise as she trudged as carefully as she could through the mud. She was out of view of the house now and thick pine, cedar, and redwood trees towered all around her, making the air smell deliciously earthy. The walk took a little over ten minutes, as opposed to the five or so in the car, and the sight of lights glittering through the trees ahead of her was a welcome one. As she got closer, she could hear music. _Good,_ she thought. _Then I'm not early._ Which was the very reason, she insisted to herself, that she had not wanted to go over in the car.

After wiping her feet on the doormat, she knocked politely. The breeze was starting to pick up and the temperature was dropping. Jenny shivered. A boy with ashy blond hair and violet eyes opened the door. It took Jenny a moment before she recognized him. Dee had gotten into a fight with him in a club only three days ago.

"Ash?" she blurted disbelievingly.

Ash stiffened, apparently remembering her, too.

"You," he said flatly by way of greeting, before turning around and leaving. He had an unpleasant look on his face and his eyes had turned brown.

"Sorry about him," someone said kindly. Jenny turned towards the voice and saw, right behind where Ash had been standing, another boy. He had soft, scrubby brown hair, silvery green eyes, and a warm, friendly smile that put Jenny at ease. "He's usually more charming than that. I'm Robin Redfern. It's nice to meet you."

"Jenny Thornton." Jenny smiled and offered her hand. "Thank you for inviting us. My friends should either be here or be here soon."

Robin took her hand and, instead of shaking it, kissed it. "Our pleasure. Please, come in and enjoy yourself."

He closed the door behind Jenny, who was blushing slightly, and turned to a girl with fire truck-red hair and a fox-like face.

Jenny, meanwhile, was in awe. Everything in the Redfern's house was expensive, and obviously so. Mr. and Mrs. Myers house was rustically furnished; expensive without looking it. The Redfern's clearly hadn't thought to do the same. There were crystal chandeliers and marble-topped solid hardwood tables. And huge grand piano was tucked into the library off the entrance hall; Jenny had noticed Ash disappear into it. _Audrey would die and go to heaven if she saw this place._

Running a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face, Jenny wound her way past people through the parlor and into the great room. The party was in full swing here. People danced left, right, and center and music was blaring from surround sound speakers placed throughout the room. It was unlike any house party Jenny had ever been to. Not because of the dancing and the music and how at least half of the guest were more beautiful than should be allowed, but because the food was catered from some of the most expensive restaurants in the area. Because nobody really seemed to know each other, yet everyone did. Because most families put all their valuables up when they threw a party, and the Redfern's hadn't. Which meant that they were either extremely naïve or they were simply too rich to care.

Unfortunately, Jenny was willing to bet it was the latter.

As she walked, Jenny caught site of Zach and Tom a couple times, though they didn't seem to see her. She couldn't find Dee, though, and she wondered if Dee had found Ash and they were resuming their previous argument. Audrey and Michael looked sweet together, sitting in a corner and chatting with a group of partygoers. Jenny couldn't watch Zach and Summer dance. It hurt her too much. Especially when she saw the expression on her cousin's face.

It was a relief when Robin came to talk to her. He was nice; a perfect host for someone his age. Nothing he asked her was flirtatious, and Jenny decided the red haired girl was probably his girlfriend. Every question was focused on their trip so far and how she was enjoying the area and the weather and where good places to visit were. He even told her some legends and history about the lake. Jenny found herself enthralled by his stories, anxious to hear more. So, naturally, it was a complete shock when she found herself being asked to dance.

Jenny and Robin looked at the new boy curiously. He was short, or at least Jenny's height, with short, fashionably messy brown hair and warm brown eyes. He looked…normal. Which threw Jenny off, because most of the people around her were beautiful. Jenny found the slight blush that was creeping up over his face to be oddly endearing, and, with Robin's smile of encouragement, she told him yes.

Naturally…it was a slow dance.

_Come into my life. Regress into a dream. We will hide, and build a new reality…_

Though at first she felt awkward, it was a minor comfort to her when he just held her lightly. It had been so long since she'd just been held. That thought brought a flash of guilt to her. She'd only ever danced with Tom, Julian, and Brian. She didn't even know this guy's name, though she wasn't about to ask. It was bad form to look up during a slow dance if you didn't want to be kissed.

Plus, that awkwardness would ruin the nice, safe feeling coming over her. It had been such a long time since she'd felt safe. Safe enough to just dance without having to worry about Tom or murderous shadow men or her nightmares.

_…Draw another picture of the life you could have had. Follow your instincts, and choose the other path…_

Jenny just listened to the music, letting the unfamiliar song flow through her as she rested her head on his shoulder. Her thoughts unwound as she relaxed, and she didn't feel stressed or awkward anymore.

This guy, who ever he was, was a pretty good dancer, she decided. He seemed to know what he was doing, but he wasn't trying to get her alone somewhere. He seemed just as fine with staying right there as she did.

_…You should never be afraid. You're protected from trouble and pain…_

It took a moment for Jenny to notice something that, quite frankly, creeped her out: he was humming. It wasn't unnatural for the one who was leading to hum in tune with the music, it actually helped for you to keep track of the beats. But it wasn't the right song. It was familiar, though. Too familiar in the worst of ways. Chills threatened to run up Jenny's spine, but she forced them away. Shock made her feel as blank as an empty canvas for a short while. _No. This can't be real. Not now._

_…Watch our souls fade away and out bodies crumbling. Don't be afraid. I will take the blow for you…_

"Excuse me," Jenny said with a bright smile as she lifted her head from his shoulder. She was proud of herself about how steady her voice was.

_…I've had recurring nightmares, that I was loved for who I am. And missed the opportunity to be a better man…._

She walked sedately to the bathroom, closed the door behind her…and started panicking. Though it was difficult, she tried to stop. Bad things happened if you didn't stay calm. Jenny took several deep breaths and pat water onto her face. It helped calm her slightly. Helped enough for her to develop a plan.

Jenny turned to the window. It locked and unlocked from the inside. _Good_. It took a lot of effort, but she calmly walked to the window and unlatched it. The window was heavy, but, thankfully, she was still on the ground floor so the jump wasn't bad and the window swung open easily enough. Jenny swung her legs over the sill. The second her feet touched dirt, she started running.

Jenny wasn't sure where, or even why, she was running. It wasn't like she thought she would even get very far. But she still was. She had to get away from him. Trees quickly surrounded her, blocking out all but the moonlight. It didn't occur to her that she was running in the general direction of Audrey's house.

"Jenny!"

She felt his hand closed around her wrist. Jenny pulled free with a small sob of fright and kept running. Dimly, she heard him follow, matching her pace to a turn.

"Jenny! You're running right at it!"

_At what? _The second Jenny hesitated was the second his arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him.

"Stop it! Let go! Let go of me!" Jenny struggled to get free, but, of course, Julian didn't let her. Instead, he pulled her even closer.

A loud snapping of a branch made Jenny go silent and, finally, look. Eyes in the darkness. They were level with hers and were a reflective metallic coppery-green. Like a dog's eyes in a dark room. And whatever the eyes belonged to was growling. A low rolling noise like a motorcycle's engine. It sounded big. _Really_ big.

"Is it a bear?" Jenny managed to whisper.

"No, something worse," Julian answered, crushing her even closer to his chest. Every muscle in his body seemed taught, and an almost electric feeling of energy seemed to the exuding from his body.

_He's afraid,_ Jenny realized, surprised. _Afraid for both of us._ Which seemed like an idiotic notion, but was actually true. Jenny suddenly felt much more frightened. If _Julian_, of all people, was scared of this thing, then what exactly would it do to them? She held onto one of his hands as the thing took a step forward. She wanted to run. _No. Don't run. Prey runs. Hunter's chase. If you run, it'll catch you. Bad, bad idea, Jenny._

"Jenny?" Julian inquired as the thing took another step forward. It's growling rose in pitch. "On my wrist, there's a string of beads. Count to five and take it off for me. Can you do that?"

Jenny nodded hesitantly and grasped the beads at the precise second the beast pounced. Julian pushed Jenny out of the way. The beads went with her as she tumbled to the ground…and the creature went _through_ Julian. Jenny couldn't help but stare. Julian winced as if it had hurt him. It had. Jenny could see faint scratches on his chest from its claws.

The creature hit the ground at a bad angle, and one of its front legs bent under its body, sending it into a tumble. It hit a tree with a thunderous crash. Jenny got to her feet as Julian turned to face it. She could see it now, not that that was a good thing. It was a wolf. A wolf as large as a man with teeth like a great white shark's. Its fur was pitch black and matted with something that Jenny had the sneaking suspicion was blood. The creepiest part, Jenny realized as it slowly got to its massive feet, was its eyes. The entire thing was pupil; no iris, no whites, just pupil. _Oh, god._

It growled and lunged for Julian again. Jenny had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as Julian just barely got out of the way. Something occurred to Jenny just as she realized Julian couldn't keep dodging this thing forever.

"Marcus!" Jenny screamed, not knowing how she knew to call for him. What shocked her even more…was that Julian did the exact same thing.

The shadow man in question was there in an instant, grabbing the wolf around the neck from behind. As it tried to shake Marcus off, Julian got out of the way, rubbing the claw marks that were already healing.

"Rock!" Marcus shouted, trying to stay on. "Throw me a damn rock!"

Jenny checked the ground and picked up a large, jagged rock that was roughly the size of both her fists. Marcus caught it easily when Jenny threw it, lifted it up, and brought it down, hard, on the wolf's head. It immediately stopped. Marcus slid off, slowly backing away and coming to a stop next to Julian. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the wolf teetered drunkenly before falling onto its side. It vanished in a puff of black smoke that moved liquidly into the ground.

Not relaxing, Jenny let her breath out in a whoosh and tried to calm her heart. She took that time to study both shadow men. Julian looked the same as ever, she decided. His white shone in the dim light and his eyes were like liquid cobalt. The scratches on his bare chest were healed and his vest wasn't even damaged. However, he didn't look as calm and in control as Jenny was used to. _I'm in shock_, she thought; _that's why I'm not screaming and panicking about Julian being back_. It was a lie. Somehow…she just wasn't surprised about him being alive.

Marcus looked…dangerous. His gold eyes were bright and he was breathing heavily. His night dark hair was in his face, but he didn't move to push it away. _At least he's wearing a shirt…unlike someone,_ a cynical voice in the back of Jenny's mind said.

"This isn't good," Marcus said softly. "They're going to send more. That one was fairly…weak."

"Weak?" Julian echoed, looking and sounding skeptical.

"_Fairly_ weak," Marcus retorted in a reasonable tone.

Julian turned to Jenny. "Jenny, are you-" Jenny slapped him…or, tried to. Her hand went right through his face. "Ow. Are you alright?"

Jenny just stared dumbstruck at him. She'd calmed down, well, as much as she could when around Julian, but that didn't mean her thoughts weren't racing.

"Jenny?" he repeated worriedly. He grasped the beads dangling from Jenny's hand and cupped her face with his other hand.

Jenny didn't look into his eyes. She couldn't. He was wearing that look again; the one that made him look like a stricken child. If she looked, then she might forgive him. And she couldn't do that. She needed to stay angry at him so he couldn't seduce her.

"Are you alright? Did it hurt you?"

Jenny managed to shake her head slightly and she let the beads slide through and into Julian's hand. Marcus snorted slightly, brushing aside dirt and leaves before sitting down on a large rock.

"Good," Julian whispered, moving his hand up into her hair. His fingers wove gently through the strands, both comforting and hinting at something more. He slipped the beads over his neck with his free hand and, as though he couldn't bear for anyone but Jenny to hear, he whispered, "Are you mad at me?"

Jenny nodded once, her green eyes wide and almost child-like in the moment. A look of irritation flashed over Julian's face as Marcus laughed from his rock. Jenny didn't know why the dark haired boy was still there, she didn't really care, but Julian certainly seemed to take offense at it.

Julian sighed wearily, bringing Jenny back to the present. "You never stop fighting me, do you, Jenny? You never will."

Jenny couldn't answer him. It wasn't that she didn't have an answer, it was that Julian had started rubbing the back of her neck and she suddenly lost the ability to speak. Irritation with him and her rules be damned, it felt too good to be real. _I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be like _this_ with _him_. I should be back at the party or at home with Tom- _Julian cut off her train of thought with a kiss. It was slow and confident and it made shivers run up and down Jenny's spine. Her will lasted the entire first five seconds before she succumbed and put her arms around his neck, kissing him back.

Julian pulled her closer, changing the pressure of his lips on hers. Jenny's pulse raced and heat pooled in her groin. It was like…he suddenly wasn't close enough. Like she needed to crawl under his skin and never come out. She wanted…wanted…wanted _more_.

As though sensing Jenny's thoughts, Marcus cleared his throat awkwardly to remind them he was still there. The kiss stopped almost immediately.

Jenny felt every drop of blood in her body rush to her face when she realized she had forgotten all about him. _So embarrassing_. Ignoring Julian's almost smug smirk, Jenny inquired, "What was that thing?"

_That_ wiped the smirk off Julian's face. He and Marcus exchanged looks that Jenny couldn't quite understand. It had to be a guy thing.

"It was a monster. A…sort of shadow beast, if you will. When the Elders can't be bothered to track someone down…they send one of those," Julian said sounding like he was trying to explain delicately. Unfortunately, there really is no way to delicately explain giant shadow wolves; at least, that's how Jenny felt.

"Except they're usually more lethal. Bigger. And they travel in packs when they're looking for dinner…just like teenagers," Marcus added in a bluntly helpful manner. Julian glared at him. Jenny went pale.

It took her a long moment to get her thoughts in any type of order. She was lucky for even that, she knew. Julian always made her head spin.

"So…what are you doing here? How are you even here?"

"I could ask all of you the exact same thing," a new voice said.

In a mix of instinct and paranoia, everyone turned to face the new arrival. Standing by an incense cedar, wearing a look of complete and utter disapproval, was Zach.

* * *

**AN:** Argh! Zach! Honestly! Couldn't you have waited about ten minutes! :P Kidding. Sorry for the delay. My internet has been going out constantly and we've been busy. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. The next is the one I'm really worried about. Also! I'm going out of town in about a week and I'm not sure if I'll have internet or not while I'm gone. Would you like me to update extra before or after I go? Cheers til next time! *waves*


	7. If I Gave You The Truth

**Chapter Seven**

Jenny froze. She was _very_ consciously aware that her arms were still around Julian's neck and that his arms were wrapped around her waist. Marcus appeared to be torn somewhere between amusement and awkwardness; like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Zach didn't look away. He continued to glower until Jenny pulled herself out of Julian's embrace.

"What-" Jenny stopped, blushing at how breathless she sounded. She cleared her throat before continuing, "What are you doing here, Zach?"

Tearing his eyes away from Julian and sounding relatively bland, Zach said, "I was looking for _you_. Robin said you disappeared. I thought I should come and take you back…especially with how you and Tom have been acting lately."

Though somewhat grateful, Jenny wished he hadn't made the Tom remark. Then again, she decided she probably deserved it.

"Oh? And…how is Tommy?" Julian asked, looking innocent.

No one bought it for a second.

"It's _none_ of _your_ business," Zach said flatly as Jenny echoed him, sounding far more scandalized.

Marcus grinned, holding back a snicker. "Tough luck, Jules."

Julian didn't reply.

Jenny tried to think about what they could do. It was abundantly clear that neither shadow man was going to leave, and while Marcus seemed decent enough to not be driven off at first glance, somehow Jenny had the feeling the same could not be said for Julian. There was just no getting around it. "I think we all need to have a talk."

No one seemed to completely agree with her, but Jenny didn't give them room for argument. She started off towards the house without another word. Somewhere inside her, her shock was fading. She wasn't entirely sure how to act. Of course Jenny was mad that Julian had promised to leave her alone and was now back, and, of course, she was also oddly happy that he was alive, but she was also terrified. Nothing was quite right when Julian was around. From people dying to being sucked into another world to being seduced against her will, it was always one bad thing after another. _And some not-so-bad things_, her mind added traitorously.

Jenny could feel tension behind her and glanced to her side when she heard footsteps next to her. It surprised her that it was Marcus. He gave her a tiny smile that seemed…friendly? Like he was telling her not to worry. Weird. She wondered if he meant it.

The walk was entirely silent other than for the odd, haunting tune that Marcus was humming. It seemed to calm Jenny down, which put her on edge even further. She couldn't help but wonder why and what Zach and Julian were doing walking behind them. _Don't want to know. Ignorance is bliss. Curiosity killed the cat._

But curiosity was also king, which meant Jenny couldn't help but speculate what exactly Julian wanted. Well…her, obviously. Of course he wanted her. But…why was he staying around? Why wasn't he whisking her off or making threats or asking for another game? Why was he just walking petulantly behind them, with another shadow man with him? Jenny decided that during the last Game she'd been right: the new Julian was dangerous.

He just might get her killed.

It was a relief to reach the house, but, as Jenny opened the front door, she decided she was an idiot. _Talk? _There were two shadow men, one who'd kidnapped her and the other who she didn't even really know, standing on the porch…and she wanted to talk this over? With people who all had reasons to hate shadow men? _I think I'm going mad._

"Madness isn't as bad a trait as you would think," Marcus murmured as he slipped into the house first. Oddly enough, that didn't make Jenny feel any better.

_This might be a good thing_, her inner optimist said. _Whoever's up there in charge of this world has to have a plan for us and it might all turn out well_. Well, Jenny was certain there _was_ a plan…but how did anyone know the one in charge "up there" wasn't as mad as they were?

When they were all inside, Jenny and Zach exchanged a what-do-we-do-now? look. A plan seemed to occur to Zach, for he headed up stairs.

"Uh…why don't you two just…stay down here?" Jenny suggested meekly. She wasn't sure the shadow men were paying attention. Julian was watching her with an odd expression on his face, and Marcus was rifling through the cabinet by the door like a giant pixy on speed. With that lovely mental image in mind, Jenny followed her cousin up the stairs.

Zach was waiting for her. He didn't look happy.

"Okay," she whispered to him. "I know this isn't a good idea, but what do you want me to do?"

"Tell them to go. Tell Julian you don't care about him, and it doesn't matter if he brings his 'friends' or not, you're not going."

Jenny just stared at him. She knew she should say it. But the fact that they both knew it was a lie nearly killed her.

"Or," Zach added, "do you want to go with him?"

"I don't know," Jenny said. "You make it sound so easy, Zach. Just pick one and go with it. But I _can't_. Don't you understand that I can't? I could never leave all this behind, but…."

"But you don't want to ignore something good that might come out of this?"

Jenny frowned slightly. She'd never really thought going with Julian would be a good thing. An experience to remember, definitely, but not something…worthwhile. Not the beginning of a wonderful relationship like hers and Tom's. _Weren't you thinking just yesterday that something was missing from Tom and your relationship? _an evil little voice whispered in the back of her mind. Jenny forced the thought away.

"I just need to think." After a moment of silence, Jenny added, "Can you get Tom, and I'll get Summer."

If the situation wasn't so serious…Jenny would have sworn her cousin was about to smile.

Jenny wished she could smile about two minutes later as she went to wake up her friends. In each room it was the same thing: _Hey, you need to wake up. Zach and I have something we need to tell you. _Each person would wake up, some more reluctantly than others, and Jenny would leave as the others got up to get somewhat dressed. The bad feeling Jenny had seemed to get worse.

Whatever her friends were going to be expecting…this wasn't going to be it.

She finally left Audrey's room and started down the stairs before entering the cellar. It was like Jenny had stepped onto a balcony; the entire back wall was a window that looked almost nonexistent. The room seemed to just open right up to the endless black trees and velvety sky. Naturally, the two shadow men who occupied the room looked like they belonged…even if they did look odd amongst the old furniture and knick-knacks being stored down there.

Julian leaned against the wall, looking insolently arrogant as he studied the carpet, and Marcus stared out the window as if he could shatter the glass by simply looking at it. Something seemed off. Well…more off than having shadow men in your basement.

"Is something wrong?" Jenny blurted, only to blush when Marcus turned his stare on her.

Julian's head snapped up as if someone had called his name and he, almost imperceptibly, straightened as he looked out the window.

"Nothing, kid," Marcus replied. Jenny wasn't sure if he was talking to her or Julian and she simply blinked at him. _Kid?_ He added, "Unless you'd rather I called you sweetheart?"

"No, I wouldn't," another voice remarked coldly from the doorway before Jenny could voice her negation.

Jenny turned and her anxiety increased by threefold. Tom stood in the door, looking devilishly handsome and extremely angry. She knew why, but was still surprised. She didn't think she'd ever seen Tom so angry before…and now he was and it was all directed at one person: Julian.

"Tommy," Jenny breathed. She said his name almost as though it were a prayer or an anchor as she walked to him. He barely looked at her, though, still giving the shadow men his best glare.

Zach made his way in with a mostly asleep Summer, and Jenny knew that this was it. Jenny's heart thudded absurdly fast as her friends slowly entered the room. Tom still seemed ready to commit violence (it seemed he'd brought his old friends Bitter and Resentful downstairs with him), but he sat down on a wooden dining chair, looking deceptively like he was going to be nice. Jenny sat down next to him quickly. He wouldn't do anything if she held onto him.

Marcus seemed amused as he observed Jenny and Tom and Julian, who kept staring out the window.

After a few painfully long moments the last of the group came in. If Jenny had ever hoped her friends wouldn't notice Julian, it had been in vain. Everyone's eyes flickered between her and both the shadow men in silent accusation and Jenny couldn't meet anyone's gaze.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Dee muttered as quietly as she could, curling her long legs under her as she sat on a footstool.

"Yeah, Jenny," Tom said, his voice still cold as he didn't even _try_ to be quiet about it. "What _is_ he doing here?"

Jenny flushed, embarrassed for some reason and perhaps slightly guilty. She didn't understand why she was supposed to have all the answers. It wasn't her fault! It's not like she summoned them, after all. "I'd like to know that myself."

"Let's cut to the chase then, yeah? All this sexual tension's doing my head in," Marcus said, somehow managing to sound grave, cheerful, and sarcastic all at once.

Jenny and Summer both blushed again and everyone else just stared, looking a bit blank. Except Julian, Jenny noticed. He was still staring out the window. Jenny had seen shadow men have an entire conversation in a single glance before, and Jenny guessed that that was what was happening with him. Judging by the expression on his face…it wasn't going all that well. He looked pissed.

"-the hell are you?" Dee was asking Marcus as Jenny pulled her attention away from Julian.

"Marcus," the dark-haired shadow man replied. "Don't worry about introducing yourselves, though. I know who you are. Every shadow man in the entirety of the worlds knows who you are, which, I might add, is why I'm here." He held up a hand in a 'ta-da!' like motion as he sat down.

No one looked pleased.

"Why would it matter if they know our names?" Zach asked as Dee abruptly said, "We're not playin' another Game!"

"Well, that's unfortunate," Marcus said dryly, "because you _will_ be playing a new Game. The Elders want all of you dead, and very few of our kind would ever even _try_ to get in their way. You might want to start thinking about how to survive to the end of the week," he added, now sounding slightly sarcastic. "After all…they made their first move against Jenny tonight."

Jenny's friends all turned to look at her. There was no longer accusation in their faces, but they all seemed to be silently pleading for her to say it hadn't happened.

After a beat, Jenny nodded once. "It was a giant wolf…thing."

"A Filtiarn, one of the Elder's wolf assassins," Marcus clarified. "There's an entire pack outside-"

"-but they're keeping to the woods," Julian finished for him. He had been so quiet, and his voice so unexpected, that Summer actually jumped.

"How do we stop them?" Zach asked, leaving Jenny to wonder exactly how much he had seen before he'd made his presence known in the woods. He sounded like he believed them.

"You don't," both shadow men said in different tones; Marcus slightly amused, Julian dry.

There was silence at that. Jenny could see that Zach was convinced and so was Summer, though she was also terrified. Dee, Tom, and Audrey were various levels of skeptical, and Michael looked torn. Jenny knew how he felt, if she hadn't seen the Filtiarn herself, she wasn't completely sure she'd believe what was happening either.

"If you truly want to survive," Marcus began, "then you want to focus on evasion. They're very fast, so don't try to run. But they have no jumping ability and can barely swim, so climb a tree, hop in the lake, or get into a house so they can't reach you. If you're in a situation where you must fight, like a shark, their eyes are weak spots. So is the back of their necks. Just…don't let them catch you or drag you off."

"As _nice_ as it is that you're sharing this with us…why should we trust you? How do we know that _you're_ not the ones trying to get us caught?" Tom said, his voice indicating that he thought their information was anything but nice.

Marcus frowned, finding Tom's attitude to be disrespectfully annoying. "If I wanted to turn you in, Tommy. I would have done it earlier. While you were in Vegas, perhaps, or while you were sleeping. I wouldn't _waste my time_ dealing with you after meeting you. It would just be tedious. You don't seem to get that I've watched you almost as long as he has," he added with a nod towards Julian. "I'm in exile, I have nothing to do but watch. If I had wanted to hurt you, I could have done so at any time. But I would rather not harm any of you."

"That's not good enough," Audrey said, her voice afraid and her expression petulant. "When has the word of a shadow man meant anything?"

"She's right," Dee said. She gestured to Julian, "He said if we got to the top of the paper house, we could go. He said we'd only play one game. He said he'd _leave us alone_. He didn't do any of that crap. Are we supposed to just believe both of you for no reason?"

"I…can't speak for Jules," Marcus muttered, thoroughly cowed. "And I'll admit I haven't made the best first impression. But I hoped you would."

Jenny thought he looked almost sweet and innocent at those words; like a little boy wondering why the big kids at school didn't like him. The look was gone quickly.

Now, he just looked thoughtful. "Did…uh, you sign it, Jules?"

"It was my idea. Of course I signed it."

Jenny knew she and her friends were thinking the exact same thing: _Sign what?_

Muttering, Marcus snapped his fingers theatrically and a slip of paper, about the size of an index card, appeared in his hand. He looked at the paper warily for a long moment, making everyone that much more suspicious, before handing it to Jenny. The paper was extremely thin and old; two blood-spattered lines of runes were the only things that adorned it. One was a long line of jumbled nonsense that Jenny didn't understand. The other was simple. Jera. Uruz. Laguz….

Julian's name.

Jenny stared blankly between the paper and Marcus, not sure how to voice her question. Either this was what she thought it was or some horrible prank. Her fingers seemed to tingle where she touched the paper. It seemed…heavier than it ought to have. The reality of it hit her again. She was holding two people's _lives_ in her hand.

"Oh, good," Marcus said. "You do know what it is."

"My Grandfather mentioned it in his journals," Jenny murmured, still surprised.

"Uh…mentioned what?" Dee cut in. The others seemed to agree with her.

"Our _names_," Marcus replied, as if it made all the sense in the world.

But it was Julian who really made the others understand as he added with a small, but odd, smirk, "And by controlling our names, Jenny controls _us_."

An expectant hush fell over Jenny's friends, as if waiting for he to do something. Jenny nearly sighed, and slipped the paper into the pocket of her dress. Dee and Tom seemed disappointed.

"What will happen," Audrey asked suddenly, "if they catch us?"

An odd look came over Marcus's face. He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, his emotions oddly clear on his face. "Once," he started slowly, his voice turning hauntingly cello-like, "there was a couple who thought they could best the Elders. They beat them several times, and thought they were free. But they were wrong.

"One night while they were sleeping, the Elders broke into their home and stole them away. For one very long week, they tortured them. It was just before my exile and there was nothing I could do to stop it, though the Elders were breaking all the rules. I remember…they cut the girl first. There was so much blood…you could see her bones at times…and they made him watch. Funny…but he screamed more than she did. She was quiet to the end, except when the Elders left and she would whisper to him. It was the only time I could watch them.

"And then she died." He looked down then, hiding the memories and emotions swirled through his eyes. Somehow pulling himself out of his trance and back to normal, Marcus said, "I don't know what happened to the man. I was exiled before I could see, but I'm sure he didn't fare much better. And neither will you, if you don't take this seriously."

Jenny thought it was the saddest thing she'd ever heard. She could, somehow, picture it very clearly. Cold stone floors splattered with still-warm crimson. A pretty, tanned girl with her dark hair matted and chunks of flesh carved from her soft skin. Her gray eyes were haunted but determined, and they looked nowhere but from the boy in front of her. Somehow, his face didn't make it into Jenny's mental image. Just the girl, chained to the floor and still ready to fight.

_Make them understand,_ Marcus's voice whispered in her mind pleadingly as the mental picture vanished from her mind. It was then that she realized who had planted the image in the first place.

Jenny tried to gather herself. She knew that the next few minutes would decide everything and that they rested entirely on her shoulders. Her friends might go along with everything if they had a good reason. Well…Jenny could hope.

"I want them to stay," she blurted, surprising herself.

"What are you talking about, Thorny?" Tom asked, looking like he'd been slapped. All but Zach and Michael agreed with him.

"I said, I want them to stay," Jenny repeated. "We don't know what we're dealing with, Tommy. I'd rather have help from people that are supposed to be our enemies than go alone and loose this time. They've saved my life before, and not just tonight. So I want them to stay."

"Oh, what the hell," Michael piped up. "I didn't think the Games were over, anyway. Let's do this."

Michael's attempted enthusiasm made Audrey sigh and give a weak nod.

"We don't really have a choice," Zach added. "If we don't, we die. If we do, we're still not out of the woods. Right?"

"I think Zach's right," Summer all but squeaked as Dee voiced her agreement.

Which meant it came down to Tom. And he _really_ didn't look happy.

"This isn't a good idea," Tom whispered. He sat there a few seconds, looking tired in his sleep sweats. "But it's what you want, isn't it, Thorny? I guess…I'll do it."

Jenny hugged him, feeling thankful. She didn't want him to get hurt. The look on Julian's face at the site of them suggested he might be sick. Jenny purposely ignored it.

The group talked for a couple hours longer, trying to figure out how they were going to figure out who was being targeted and what they all ought to be doing next. In the end it was decided. Jenny and Marcus would head down to the lake in the morning, and Julian, Dee, and Zachary would all go up into the mountains. Tom, Summer, Audrey, and Michael would all stay home just in case one of the groups called, needing help or needing them to have medical stuff or food available when they got home. It certainly seemed like a good plan.

By the time they'd finished, Summer was dozing on Zach's shoulder and Jenny was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Noticing the time, Michael was all too happy to say it was time for bed. He and Audrey were the first to stumble off, slowly followed by Zach, who was struggling to carry Summer. Dee ran to help him.

Which left a rather awkward group of Tom, Jenny, Marcus and Julian. Not wanting to feel odd, and noticing that the shadow men showed no inclination to move, Jenny bid them all a good night and hurried up the stairs. Tom caught up with her outside her bed room.

"Jenny!" he said.

"Hi, Tommy. Can we talk in the morning? I'm really tired," she said apologetically.

"I just…do you really trust them?"

Jenny froze with her hand on the doorknob. "Not really," she said evenly. "But we need help. And we can't fight those wolves on our own. You're not mad, are you?"

"No!" Tom said quickly, as though he could never be mad at her, before dropping his voice to a whisper, "I still think this is a bad idea."

Jenny smiled sleepily. "Trust me, please, Tommy."

And with that, she kissed his cheek and when to bed.

* * *

**AN:** Tommy's such a prat. Now that I've got that out of my system. I don't like this chapter. Granted, it works much better than the original, but I still don't like it. What'd y'all think?

As Ryver et Rhine said, Marcus is, indeed, very fun to write...if slightly maddening.

Sorry for taking _for-e-ver_ to post this. The trip to Tahoe was nice; it kinda felt like I was walking in Jenny's steps...without the killer wolves and shadow men. I did get sunburned, though. Mabye one day I'll post pictures on my DeviantART account, if you'd all like that. Oh! We saw a raccoon! It was awesome! And kinda scary since it was in the middle of the night... ._. We've been back a little while, now, but everything's been so busy I've just been exhausted. I've gotta finish sewing my Halloween costume, finish writing this fic, get my notes for NaNoWriMo together, and I've got a meeting with some agents in a little over a week. Please excuse me if I get behind on updating again. Just poke me, or something. ^^;

Also, thanks to my Gran, bloodyxfangs, Prongs (Where are you, my friend?), and Ryver et Rhine (Basil, is that you?). I'm sorry for not replying to any of you, but I greatly appreciated your reveiws. Thanks also to everyone who faved and alerted. I adore you guys. :) Marcus sends hugs, please review. Thankies for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter. See y'all soon!


	8. Attack

**Chapter Eight**

It was cold. Jenny tightened her grip on the cup in her hands slightly as she took a sip. The taste of coffee and cinnamon swept over her palate. It was alright, but not really too her taste. It was too bitter, really. Jenny glanced at the shadow man next to her and wondered if she shouldn't have followed his lead. Marcus had gotten chocolate, raspberry, and whipped cream in his coffee to go with the cinnamon, and he seemed to be enjoying it. He'd also gotten decaf, and Jenny definitely thought that was one thing she should have gone with. The caffeine was already getting to her.

The pair was silent as they walked, slowly making their way too the beach. As concrete turned to sand under their feet and the sky began to spit with rain, Jenny realized it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was…actually kind of nice. Aside from the rain and bitter wind, that is.

Marcus was oddly quiet, though. Strange, since the night before he'd been so vocal. Now he was a bit reserved. Almost…_broody_? A brooding shadow man, that was one for the books.

The wind and rain picked up, making Jenny shiver as it impacted against her jacket and seeped in where there was a small gap between her skin and her clothes. She fought back a glare, all but clinging to the flimsy coffee cup for what little warmth it provided. It wasn't fair that Marcus seemed so at ease in his current surroundings. Sure, both of them were damp and had now had stringy hair, but he didn't seemed bothered. On the contrary, he looked pensive; staring across the surface of the lake as if he might solve its mysteries from the shore.

"What are you thinking about?" Jenny asked him hesitantly, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Marcus just shook his head before turning to Jenny. "Nothing."

They were now out of sight from most people, sandwiched between the trees behind them and the water in front of them. Far off, they could hear cars and see boats that looked like little plastic toys from where they stood. Marcus sat down on a tree that had fallen over. The trunk looked like wood had been worn away there, as if many other people had decided it would make a good seat.

"Is 'nothing' a person, place, thing, or thought?" Jenny tried again, now really curious. She sat down, slipping a hand in her pocket. Her fingers brushed the paper there and a trickle of energy seemed to spread through her hand.

"Not working, kid," Marcus said with a smile, obviously thinking Jenny was trying to force him to answer using his name. "You have to specify exactly what you want me to do. Please don't," he added quickly, "I need my privacy as much as you do."

Jenny couldn't really argue with _that_.

"Why are we here?" Jenny asked, deciding a change in topic was in order. "Couldn't sunlight kill those wolves? Why would one come out now? Shouldn't we be doing this at night?"

"In case you haven't noticed, it's not exactly sunny, kid," Marcus quipped dryly.

A clap of thunder crashed overhead and Jenny jumped slightly, not expecting it. The morning was getting worse and worse. She was cold, wet, and tired, and all she'd had to eat or drink was one lousy cup of coffee. It was pointless to point out that she really wanted to be back at the house. As if sensing Jenny's distress, Marcus shrugged out of his long leather jacket and handed it to Jenny, who immediately pulled it on. _Funny_, she thought, snuggling into its warmth and subconsciously breathing in the jacket's sent. It was odd; like sandalwood, bittersweet chocolate, and leather. _I always thought they were so cold._

Setting the nearly empty coffee cup down next to her, she made sure both of her hands were in her pockets. A question that had been poking at her all day suddenly came back to her mind and Jenny asked curiously, "Marcus? Why did you explain everything last night? I mean…it's like Julian to never tell us what's going on. But I thought all shadow men were like that and you were so…talkative."

"I'm _always_ talkative," he said sweetly. It almost sounded like he was saying something else, and, by his tone, Jenny wasn't sure she wanted to know what. He went serious then, and thought for a moment. "I thought you guys needed to know. When I started out, I did everything on my own. It's easier that way, you know. If you and your friends would split up and never talked to each other again, it would keep all of you alive longer."

Jenny gaped at him. "But I couldn't leave my friends. I want them to be safe, but I couldn't leave. They'd get hurt or-"

"Yes, you could," he said. Something in his expression was tired; very tired. As if he'd had that argument with himself before. Jenny wondered how many friends he'd had to leave behind before. Then his expressions changed, going alert. He got to his feet, dusting sand off his jeans, and said quietly, "Do something for me: stay here. I'll be back soon."

And with that, he left. Jenny didn't know what to do. "Wait a minute!" she called after him. "Marcus! Where are you going?!"

She only got a cheeky wave as an answer as he kept going. Jenny folded her arms across her chest moodily. _Stupid good-for-nothing shadow men_. Jenny pulled her hair out of her face and waited.

And waited….

And waited….

And waited….

The sky grew steadily darker and the rain showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Jenny started to lose her patience. If it hadn't been for the fact that Marcus had been her transportation, she probably would have already been headed back to the house. Back to Tom. She let her mind wander to him, trying to find some comfort in the middle of this dreary beach. So she kept her mind off of shadow men and on Tom. Sweet Tommy who was always there for her. _Except now_, a snide voice in the back of her mind whispered. _Where has he been lately?_

_He loves me_, she thought forcefully to that voice. It sounded pathetically weak.

_Which is why he's sitting around with Audrey and Michael, all nice and warm and comfortable while you're out here getting soaked._

_No. That's not it! He just doesn't trust _them, she insisted, her thoughts wandering momentarily to Marcus and Julian.

_Or_, the voice murmured with poisonous sweetness, _is it that he doesn't trust _you_?_

"No scary monsters that I could find," Marcus announced, finally returning.

Jenny was jolted out of her thoughts and yelped in fright. "Marcus! You scared me half to death! Where were you?"

"Well," Marcus began levelly, sitting back down, "I was checking to make sure we weren't going to be eaten. I was only gone twenty minutes, anyw-"

Something _huge_ knocked them apart.

_Ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod._

It was gargantuan. Bigger than the creature from the night before. Oh god, and it's teeth. It's teeth were as long as Jenny's forearm and a sickening blackish red. The Filtiarn lunged for her the same moment Marcus lodged his hand under its throat. He wrapped his other arm around its neck and gave it a sharp twist. Jenny wanted to gag when she heard its neck crack. She really did gag when it shook Marcus off and its head snapped back in place.

The motion sent Marcus flying. He hit a rock and groaned faintly, his eyes closed in pain. When he opened them, they weren't gold anymore; they were vacuous, bottomless pits of blackness. As if recognizing him and deciding Marcus wasn't worth its effort, the Filtiarn turned away from him and back to Jenny, growling all the while.

And Jenny, knowing it was a stupid thing to do, tried to pull herself to her feet. Fear and adrenaline took over all logic. But before Jenny got even a single step away, she was back on the ground, that _thing_ standing over her triumphantly. She flinched away, her eyes closed as she waited for the killing blow. That being said, she never really found out what happened next.

All she knew was that, one minute, the Filtiarn was above her. And the next, there was a yelp, a snarl, and a slight grunt masked by a nasty crunching noise followed by a whimper. A thud. Then…silence.

When the silence continued, Jenny made herself open her pine green eyes. The Filtiarn was completely gone. Marcus stood before her, not facing her. But…it wasn't really Marcus; _was it? _It looked nothing like him. His nails were several inches long and curved like daggers. And they were just as sharp. The rain made blood drip down from them in fat, pinkish drops. Jenny stood up, silently willing herself not to be frightened. Shock was still firmly in control, keeping her from processing things properly. Waves of pity broke through the shock, making her feel sorry for him. His skin…it wasn't the mushroom-flesh or tanned leather she'd seen on other shadow men. It was black. Charred black and burnt like a log after a fire. There were large cracks running through his hands and face that showed up red and raw. Painful looking. He had no eyes. _He had no eyes! _Panic started to break through the shock. _Oh god, he's one of them…. _She was standing alone on a beach with an Elder…and she was scared. Truly and utterly scared.

And then an even worse thought occurred to her: How exactly could an Elder be exiled? What could he have done that was so bad that the others wanted him gone? Dead? Removed from them? And that thought made Jenny, if anything, all the more scared.

"Marcus…." Jenny heard herself whisper, her pity somehow giving her courage. Whatever he'd done, she decided, was in the past. It was over with now. Done. He had saved her life three times now (she was sure it was him who had saved her in Vegas), and she decided he deserved her appreciation. Doubting him was just rude and ungrateful.

She subconsciously reached out to laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from her a second before her fingers made contact. Jenny lowered her hand. After a long uncomfortable moment of silence, Marcus turned around. His glamour was back in place and he looked like himself again, or at least the way Jenny was used to seeing him.

"We should go," he muttered.

Jenny nodded and Marcus paused, his face changing from impassive to irritated and back in the period of a second.

"What is it?" Jenny asked, feeling wary and nervous.

"There's been an accident."

Jenny's stomach seemed to drop out. Her head spun and she felt like she might vomit. Her only thoughts were: _Zach? Dee? They were outside today. Oh, God, please don't have let anything happen to them. Please let them be okay._

"Two of your friends, Audrey and Michael, I think, are in the hospital. Your boyfriend was with them."

* * *

It was quite possibly the worst feeling Jenny had ever felt in her life as she looked down at Michael and Audrey in their hospital beds. They were both too pale; Audrey like a china plate and Michael like an ivory candle. Large purplish bruises covered Michael's forehead, cheek, and nose. Audrey had a deep cut across her left temple, but was otherwise fine; her long, spiky lashes casting dark shadows on her pale cheeks. Neither of them had woken up since the paramedics had struggled to remove them from the car.

Jenny felt warm tears run down her face and drip steadily onto her chest. It was unfair. So very unfair. Forget Julian's damn concepts about fairness. _This wasn't fair_.

Still crying silently, she felt Tom pull her close from behind and could feel his slightly uneven breathing through Marcus's leather jacket. Tom had gotten away from the crash the easiest. He had a few nasty cuts and bruises and he had needed more stitches than anyone should ever need. But at least he was awake and walking and talking; unlike Michael and Audrey, who were unlikely to be doing so ever again.

The ER doctors were completely baffled, of course, as to how two apparently healthy teenagers went into a coma from something like a car crash. Even if the car hit a tree, which, according to the police, it had, it was extremely unlikely.

If Tom's story was correct (and why shouldn't it be, really?), it hadn't been a car crash. It had been a set up. Jenny and Marcus had been occupied at the beach. Zach had been keeping an eye on Dee and Julian as their tempers got shorter and shorter up higher in the mountains. Tom, Audrey, Michael, and Summer were all supposed to be at home; and none of them had suspected a thing when 'Zach' had called to ask if they could come and pick up Dee before she could get into more trouble. It was lucky Summer had asked to stay behind to try and get some kind of lunch together. The others had left, then, a couple miles away, the road was suddenly full of dark mist. There was crashing and banging. The windshield shattered, sending huge pieces of glass flying into the car. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the mist cleared and everything was silent.

From then on, everything was much clearer. A guy named Lewis Chao had seen Tom stumbling off, picked him up, and took him to the hospital so they could report Audrey and Michael and the conditions they were in. There was a lot of paper work to be filled out. IDs to be verified. People to be called. In other words, it was all becoming a big chaotic mess.

When the calls were made, Zach, Dee, and Julian had gotten there first. They were very closely followed by Jenny and Marcus (who'd come over as soon as Julian thought the news to Marcus). Summer was the last to arrive, looking distraught and crying. Jenny, however had been more worried about her cousin and her boyfriend. For a few tense moments, she was sure they were going to get into a fight. And then Zach had mentioned that he hadn't made any phone calls all day and the electricity in the air instantaneously vanished. Jenny had glared at Julian for how amused her looked, but the shadow man was unaffected by it.

Their only saving grace was that Audrey and Michael's parents hadn't been called. Somehow, Marcus managed to convince the nurse to let Jenny and her friends do that. They still weren't exactly sure how they were going to do that.

Everyone, with the exception of the shadow men, looked terrible. Sad. Miserable. Summer was sobbing in her chair in the corner and Zach was patting her shoulder awkwardly. Tom held Jenny, trying to keep her calm and give her as much comfort as he could. Julian was watching them, and Jenny noticed that he looked like he had eaten something foul; she had to struggle to hold back her own, completely inappropriate, amusement. And Dee…where was she?

Jenny looked around quickly, startling Tom who gave her an odd look. Dee was at the very back of the room…with Marcus. Jenny noticed that their eyes were locked. Dee was blushing faintly and Marcus was whispering nonstop under his breath. Jenny felt puzzled, wondering if she had missed something. Then she noticed it: Dee's eyes were glazed over. Flat. Completely devoid of any life or emotion. _Now, what _exactly _was _that_ about?_ If she wasn't so worried about Audrey and Michael, she might have gone over and asked. However, Jenny couldn't bring herself to move as her gaze returned to the still figures of her friends on their beds.

She nearly jumped as she suddenly felt heat on her hand. It was Julian's ring. The words on the inside, _I am my only master_, felt hot. Burning. _He's not changing them…is he? _Jenny looked over at Julian, only to discover he wasn't where he'd been only a second before. He was pushing Marcus away from Dee with an authority to his actions that Jenny had never seen before. She looked away from him. Something about Julian in that moment scared her.

The restraint was blatantly obvious in his voice as he all but hissed, "May I have a word? Now, Marcus."

Soon after, Jenny heard the door open and click closed. Dee sat down in the chair Julian had vacated, shaking her head like she was half-asleep and trying to wake up. Jenny was overcome by a strange feeling of dangerous curiosity, the same feeling that had made her open the door in her Grandfather's basement and had caused all the shadow men to be released. A similar decision came to mind now. _Stay or go?_

* * *

Zachary saw them go and immediately decided to follow them. He whispered a quick excuse into Summer's ear and slipped out of the room. He was confident nothing would happen to him if he got caught. After all, if Julian still cared anything for Jenny and wanted to win her over, he wasn't going to kill her cousin. _Maybe just drive me insane_….

Luckily, they were extremely easy to find; they'd only gone into the room next to Audrey and Michael's. The problem was…Zach couldn't understand a word that they were saying. It wasn't in English. It was…rougher, harsher. Then someone laughed, a cold confident sound that sent shivers up Zach's spine.

"What are you going to do about it? Kill me?" That was Marcus, his voice mocking and full of icy amusement.

"I could trade you in. My and Jenny's life for yours." And that was Julian, completely calm but with an edge that Zach remembered from the first game.

_Rule One in this Game. Don't mess with me. I'll beat you every time. _Zach had never forgotten _that_ rule.

"Oh?" The laughter had disappeared from Marcus's voice in an instant. Instead, there was a note of nearly panicked urgency. "How?"

"That would be telling," Julian stated softly. "But I have my ways. _You_, of all of us, should know that."

There was a long silence before-

"You want to be careful, Marcus. We don't need another Kai on our hands h-"

Zach heard a slight thump and a faint growling. Curiosity getting the better of him, he looked around the doorframe and felt his eyebrows go up. Marcus had Julian by the throat. He looked ready to kill, but Julian, on the other hand, didn't even look bothered.

"I know that, brother dearest," Marcus growled dangerously. "You can stop acting like our _beloved_ maker now."

In the blink of an eye, they were in opposite positions. Except Marcus's face was turning red from being strangled. Julian released most of the pressure he was applying, making it look oddly as though he had decided to rest his hand on Marcus's neck.

"Did you ask her?"

"No," Marcus said, his voice slightly hoarse but dry. "Did you?"

"I haven't been near her all day, you have. You're telling me you didn't get a single chance to ask?"

_What the—Jenny. They mean Jenny_, Zach thought, confused as he ducked behind the door again.

"So she can read the runes. Big deal. I say we let her loose on them and see what they do. After all, she's only…what did the Elders say again? Oh, yeah. She's only a stupid human."

"_Don't_ refer to Jenny as stupid."

Zach, unfortunately, missed the rest of Julian's words as the door behind him opened. It was Jenny. She looked miserable. Her green eyes, usually so serious and captivating, were dark and teary. Her face was ashen.

"Did they…?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, the nurses are kicking us out. They said visiting hours were over." She looked at the door Julian and Marcus were behind before adding, "Are they busy? Should we get them?"

"No need, kid."

They both turned to the shadow men. Irritation flowed off Julian in waves. Marcus seemed perfectly fine, except Zach noticed he was holding his side as if he'd broken his ribs. What the hell had they been doing?

"Can-can we just go, please?" Jenny nearly moaned, the emotions getting to her again. Tear were still sliding down her face.

"Of course, Jenny," Julian said almost sweetly. But he gave Zach a very different look. A I-know-you-saw-everything-but-I-won't-say-anything-if-you-don't-get-on-my-nerves look. It made Zach's stomach clench in anxiety.

_What was that saying about curiosity?_

* * *

AN: Zach keeps getting in trouble, doesn't he? Maybe that's a sign...I wonder what it'll do with the end of the fic. *thoughtful* Anyway. I meant to post on Halloween (I've never been able to post on a holiday, sadly, my timing sucks), but stuff happened and NaNo started (who else is doing NaNo? =D) and so I'm posting now. Rejoice! Or don't...either's fine. ^^; (You can tell I'm hyper from candy, huh?) Soooo...I really like this chapter for...fangirly reasons. Julian's kinda hot when he's mad, right? *shifty eyes**mutters something about Marcus not looking too bad, either* And no matter how many times I edit or reread it, I feel bad for Michael and Audrey. :( I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please tell me what y'all think. ^^ By the way, I did a shoddy editting job this chapter (my beta's asleep and sick, send her love!), so tell me if anything is amiss word wise so I can fix it. ^^

Also...I apologize for the extreme detail on the coffee at the beginning, but-

Marcus: "Rae's a coffee whore and that's her favorite type of coffee. =D *kicking back, eating popcorn*"

DX _**MARCUS!**_ *chases him off*


	9. Bed Bugs, Dreams, And Dilemmas

**Chapter Nine**

She'd never felt so calm before. Jenny knew that probably meant this was a dream, but she didn't mind. It felt real. The sheets that wrapped around her body, the soft mattress beneath her, and the even softer pillow beneath her head. All so very real. Jenny decided to see if she could test the limits of this dream and opened her eyes.

Shock spasmed sweetly through Jenny's mind, her gut tightened, and her body grew warm when all she saw was that Julian's face was inches from her own. He was so close that he dominated her field of vision and Jenny could see nothing but him. Another thing she noticed was that he was asleep.

Anxious for some reason Jenny couldn't fathom, slowly reached up and brushed the hair from his face. Sunlight glimmered off it as Jenny ran her fingers through his icy locks; they were softer than angora fur and slightly longer than it had been in the Games. Jenny felt a similar compulsion to touch him, to make completely sure that he was there, as she had when she and her friends had arrived in the paper house. A distant part of her mind reminded her that this was probably a dream and she ignored it.

Julian looked so…young and innocent. Jenny smiled. Those were words that really didn't belong to Julian. It was very deceptive, though, because, for a second, Jenny nearly believed it. The girl dropped her hand from his hair and looked down at his wrist, staring at the beads that partially obscured his snake tattoo. They were very…odd beads, and they gave her a weird feeling. Jenny reached to touch them and Julian's eyes snapped open. He grabbed her wrist before she could touch him, almost out of reflex.

"Did I wake you up?" Jenny asked awkwardly, noticing that Julian hadn't let go of her hand yet.

"No," Julian said. He traced slow circles on the back of Jenny's palm and the tightening in Jenny's gut turned to a burning. A desire that made her want to lean over and kiss him threatened to incinerate her.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Jenny noticed he seemed odd, almost…embarrassed? Weird. But it hit all of her pity buttons and she shook her head to say it was okay.

Satisfied, Julian lightly stroked her hair, sending sparks through Jenny, who closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling. She opened them again when she heard him chuckle, and the heat in her body rushed to her face at his wolf-ish smile. He leaned in…and kissed her forehead. Jenny's breath spilled out in a sigh.

"Do you love me?" he whispered against her ear.

She shivered and her eyes went wide at the unexpected question. "You-you know I love Tom, and-"

"I wasn't asking about Tommy," Julian murmured as he kissed her neck.

"Yes," she whispered faintly, enjoying the sensations that coursed through her. _Wait…what?_

He kissed her; slow shivery kisses and long ones that quickly turned wild and sent her blood boiling. Jenny's body, her heart, was telling that nagging part of her, that part that kept going "_what about Tom?_", to go away. To stop complaining and enjoy it. She wasn't sure she wanted this to ever end.

The sound of the doorbell woke her up. Jenny's eyes flew open, her pulse still racing. A blush spread over her face as she remembered her dream. God, why was she dreaming of…_that? _Underneath it all, she knew the real embarrassment came from her disappointment that it had been a dream.

She tried to calm herself down and slowly sat up. She glanced around the teal-walled room, finding comfort in its almost soft brightness. There were sunflowers on the dresser. A picture frame on the wall of a canal in Venice. Delicate-looking white lamps on white-washed wooden end tables. And…Tom asleep in an antique ivory upholstered chair.

Guilt flashed through Jenny's body. She'd been dreaming about Julian, and wanted it to be real, with Tom in the room hoping to keep her safe. Jenny felt terrible.

Tom opened his green-flecked hazel eyes, spotted Jenny, and offered her a small smile. "G'morning, Thorny."

Jenny was about to say something, she was never sure what, when something happened to distract her from her guilt. Some one screamed.

Jenny and Tom both tensed.

"Oh, God. Tommy, it's Summer."

They both raced downstairs, Jenny struggling to not trip and fall because of her nightgown. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Zach had come down behind them, and pushed past Tom to reach Summer. Summer…wasn't very good. She was in a chair, hyperventilating; she looked terrified beyond belief.

Jenny somehow managed to not blush when she noticed Marcus and Julian in a corner, watching everything.

"What is it?" Zach was asking his girlfriend, shaking her slightly. Dee looked like she wanted to shake Summer, too, but kept her hands firmly on the back of Summer's chair, her expression nearly grim.

Summer eventually calmed down enough to point to the open door. "T-th-the b-b-box," she gasped. "The box."

Tom, his body tense and eyes dark, started slowly for the box. Everyone but Summer followed. Tom knelt down and inspected the box without moving it. It was a small thing, pristine and white with a decorative ribbon and bow glued to the top. There was a card on top.

"'To the friends of Audrey Myers and Michael Cohen; we send our deepest condolences'," he read with a look back at Jenny, Dee, Summer, and Zach. He flipped the card around to show them that it was signed with the rune kenaz. Or…Jenny thought it was kenaz, it was tilted at such an angle that it looked more like a _V_. Julian and Marcus exchanged looks as Tom added, "Maybe it's for the best if all of you back up."

Nobody moved. Tom slowly raised the lid and Jenny's stomach lurched horribly.

"I'm going to be sick," she gasped and turned away as her stomach lurched again. Marcus moved to the other side of the room.

The little white box…was full of bugs. Dark brown cockroaches, shiny green beetles, grey-brown crickets, fiery red centipedes, hairy black spiders, and hundreds upon hundreds of writhing white maggots. And the _smell_. It smelled like a thousand rotting corpses had been stuffed inside with them.

Tom dropped the lid back on with a start. Zach's pale face went even paler. Dee looked disgusted. And Summer was still panicking in her chair.

"Someone get rid of this thing," Tom muttered, pushing it away with his foot.

A maggot fell out from under the lid and Jenny nearly gagged.

"I'll do it," Zach said quickly as he reached for it and headed for the outside trash bins.

In the stunned silence that followed, Jenny went over to Summer and held her close. It may have been her imagination, but Jenny thought she heard Summer mention 'the evil eyes'….

* * *

The phone was ringing, but Jenny was ignoring it. She was hoping some one else would answer it or that the caller would give up and hang up. It was the third time they'd called, after all. It was strange, though…no one but Jenny seemed to notice it.

Jenny stared out the window of the tiny kitchen, wondering what to do next. Zach, Dee, and Tom were arguing at the kitchen table about what the bugs could mean. She hadn't seen Marcus or Julian since she'd taken Summer up to bed and made her rest. Jenny wasn't paying attention as she washed off the few dishes in the sink. She just needed something to do so she didn't run screaming.

It would be making light of the situation to say that the bugs had scared her. Honestly, the bugs had scared her because, only moments before, she hadn't been scared. She'd been so calm and relaxed during that dream of Julian and so confused when she'd woken up, that it had slipped her mind to be scared of the Elders.

The phone was still ringing and Jenny gave up on waiting for her friends to answer it. She dried her hands off and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Jenny! Hi! I've been trying to call you for hours, sweetheart," a perky voice said from the other end. "You were supposed to call home when you got to the lake!"

"Mom?" Jenny said, surprised. She mentally winced; she'd completely forgotten to call her mom and tell her they'd arrived. Well…with all that had happened, who would blame her? "Sorry, mom. We've been a little busy."

"Oh, it's alright, honey," her mom replied, sounding content and like she was settling in to chat for a long while. "So, how is your trip going? Have you made any new friends? What's the lake like?"

Jenny stood there a moment, wondering how to answer that. _Well mom, the trip's been okay except bad things kept happening and Dee and I got drunk in Vegas. I nearly got mugged, but don't worry because Marcus, this shadow man who's been watching me for a while, saved me. Then things started to get creepy, but we made it to Tahoe in one piece, and met a really nice family called the Redferns. Julian (you know, that guy we tried to tell you about who kidnapped us at Tom's birthday party?) crashed their party, and I nearly got eaten by a giant wolf, but Marcus saved me again so it was okay. The nine of us talked it out and decided we would figure out who the wolves were after, so we split up. Marcus and I got attacked again and Audrey and Michael are in a coma. Why are we getting attacked? Well, the Elders, the shadow men who are even older than Julian and Marcus, want us dead for beating them in the Games. So, we're in lock down in the house until we can figure out who their after next. Oh, and I'm starting to question whether or not I actually love Tom or if I'm just using him as a way to keep Julian from attempting to claim me. Sounds like lots of fun fun fun, right? _"Everything's going okay. We haven't met too many people, it's been a little cold so we're staying inside."

"Good, good. Look, Jenny," Mrs. Thornton said, suddenly sounding worried, "if you need anything, please call us, alright? You're just so far away, and it's difficult not to worry about you, dear."

"Okay," Jenny said. It was barely a minute into the call and this was already starting to get awkward in that way only parents could get. "Look…I…have to go…uh…."

"Oh, okay," her mom said, sounding disappointed. "Alright. Call me soon, honey. And please tell your friends to call their parents, they sound worried, too. Love you, bye!"

Murmuring a quick 'bye', Jenny hung up. The others parents were worrying? Oh no. This was bad. What if Audrey or Michael's parents called? Or, worse yet, what if one of the group's parents decided they wanted to visit? Jenny could have groaned. How would they explain it then? _Hi, sorry, but we can't go out because of these evil wolves and you have to leave now if you don't want to die_. No…that wouldn't work. Anyone but Dee's Aba would think they were nuts.

Tom and Dee's argument seemed to be escalating as neither of them came to an agreement. Poor Zach stood in the middle of it all, trying to keep them calm.

"Guys?" Jenny said, frowning at the noise. When she was otherwise ignored, she added with a bit more force, "_Hey, guys._"

The others went quiet, partly from Jenny's interruption and partly from the look on her face. Dee was breathing heavily and Tom didn't look happy. Zach just looked frustrated and Jenny felt she could sympathize with him.

"What's going on?" Zach asked.

Dee added, "Who called, Sunshine?"

"That…was my _mom_," Jenny said slowly. When everyone just looked blankly at her, Jenny continued, "She wanted to know what's been going on…and why we haven't been calling home."

Understanding dawned on each of her friends at different times; it was like watching lights in the windows of a house: it happened at different times and in a slightly random manner.

"How are we supposed to explain that?" Zach muttered, looking even more irritated.

"They didn't believe us last time, why would the believe us now?" Tom asked as Dee voiced her agreement.

Jenny put the phone back on the stand, frowning. "I don't know, but we need to think of something fast. Mom will probably tell your parents we're fine, so we should be okay for another couple of days…but what are we going to do when they ask us why Michael and Audrey haven't called?"

Nobody had an answer for her.

* * *

"Why bugs? Of all the things they could have sent…why bugs?"

The same question that had sparked an argument between Tom and Dee burned in Julian and Marcus's minds. When Jenny and Zach had helped Summer up to bed and Dee had dragged a suspicious looking Tom into the kitchen (_oh, the naughty things that could be going on in there,_ Marcus had thought sarcastically) the two shadow men had hidden themselves in the cellar.

Which was more than fine with them.

"Why?" Marcus repeated more to himself than anything. He poked at his ice cream with a tiny plastic spoon. The bright green confection just kept melting as Marcus poked at one of the candy pieces mixed in. Clearly, in his mind, the ice cream wasn't doing its job and helping him think.

Julian's head jerked up from staring out the window. He's been sitting that way for the better part of the last few hours and Marcus had to struggle to contain his amusement at the dazed expression on the younger shadow man's face.

"Maybe it's a clue," Julian replied, oddly thoughtful. The warm light of the setting sun had turned his hair fiery orange and made his eyes glow an almost neon green.

"Not a very good one," Marcus muttered, secretly surprised as Julian's insight. _It did_, he thought unwillingly, _make sense. But in what way? _"How could bugs be a clue?"

Julian shrugged. "It could be who's going to be taken or injured next. Or it could be a reference to a Game that's been played in the past. I've used bugs in my Games before. Have you?"

"Consider my relationship with bugs and get back to me on that," Marcus said, repressing a shudder as he bit through a gummy bear that had been lurking in his ice cream.

Julian smiled, a mere hint of his former wolfish grin, and said, "If we're going by who here is afraid of bugs, that leaves three people: Summer, Jenny, and…you."

"Except they don't know I'm here yet, Jules. Or everything and anything would be busting down the front door."

"And they wouldn't go after Jenny so soon; not with her being one of the main players."

"Damn…that means it's Summer."

They both exchanged looked. Jenny would be devastated…again; and Marcus knew no amount of ice cream would be able to console her. Then another thought occurred to him. This time it was one he really hoped he was wrong about.

_Brother, what if they're using different pieces from several Games to create this one?_

Marcus felt Julian freeze from across the room, and there was a bit of a…stilted quality to his thoughts as he replied, _Where did you get that idea?_

Marcus tried not to sigh and took another bite of green apple gummy bear goodness. _Well. You used bugs in Summer's nightmare, and it occurred to me that what happened to our dear Romeo and Juliet is similar to what happened in a game of Ve-_

_That wouldn't be very sporting of them, _Julian put in, cutting off Marcus's thought. _We have no way of knowing what Game they'll be using next. That lowers our chances considerably. Especially since, I doubt you've noticed, but I can't hear any of the Elder's thoughts. Only yours._

Marcus felt his eyes widen and dropped his spoon. He hadn't noticed. He'd spent so long trying to shield his thoughts from the rest of his kin…that he hadn't really been paying attention when they started shielding theirs from him. _Oh, that's not fair!_

_Life isn't fair_, was Julian's snaky response.

_Karma is._

Silence.

"What we really need," Marcus said aloud when Julian failed to resume speaking, "is a neutral party. Some one we could talk to that wouldn't try to murder us on sight." _Which won't happen, so let's not get our hopes up._

Another moment of silence followed. Julian and Marcus exchanged looks again, realizing that they were thinking the exact same thing.

"As long as he doesn't get offended…" Marcus started.

"He might talk to us," Julian finished for him, once again looking thoughtful.

Marcus eyes him for a few seconds as he wiped his spoon off with a Cold Stone napkin. "You know how weird it is to see you thinking?"

Julian didn't answer him and simply vanished, leaving Marcus to stare out the cellar window as he returned to his beloved ice cream.

* * *

**AN:** It's official. NaNoWriMo's been over for over a week. (What else would I be talking about? :P) I won, by the way, with 50,894 words. Can't wait for next NaNo, to be honest. But at least I'll be able to get back to posting on a somewhat regular basis. ^^

This chapter feels...slightly OOC. Well...more than slightly. Julian in detective mode seems...odd? Dunno how else to describe it. And Marcus's ice cream scares me. Back on topic. This chapter seems rather...yeah. This chapter doesn't establish much except for Jenny's...issues. Next chapter promises to be exciting, though... I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, though, despite my disappointment with it. Thank you so much for your reviews and for reading. It means so much to me. This fic has over 60 reviews (and a heckuva lot of views/hits) and it's more than I ever expected. Thank you so, so, so much.

* * *

**To mandidawna:** Thank you so much! I have so much trouble keeping characters in character. Jenny, especially; just because I'm not very much like Jenny in real life. But Julian's fun to write. :P (And yay for Marcus starting to grow on you! I've been worried he's overwhelming everyone with his...insanity.) Thank you again. Sorry for the lack of updates as of late.


	10. The Man With The Mirror-Coloured Eyes

**Chapter Ten**

Julian put his arm around Jenny and she gave him a dark look. It was well after midnight and they were leaning against the hood of the car Marcus had 'acquired' to replace the rental they'd lost. Jenny didn't want to know how he'd gotten it. Though the hood of the car was warm, Jenny was cold; chilled by her fear and anxiety. Not to mention that there was an odd, unseasonable chill in the Las Vegas air.

Chills aside, Jenny was still ticked at him. Julian, that is. It was shortly after sunset, and only a couple long hours since that awkward call from her mom, that Julian had suddenly appeared in the kitchen, freaking out everyone and saying Jenny needed to come with him to Vegas. And then the arguing had started. Jenny still wasn't sure how her friends had finally agreed to let him take her (and how he'd finally convinced her to come, as a matter of fact). She just knew that it happened sometime around Julian having to duck a flying orange and Marcus coming in, giggling as he pulled the cookie jar off the top of the fridge, and settling in to watch.

Jenny sighed. Just another bump in the emotional rollercoaster that was this past week.

It wasn't until they were alone, and Jenny's temper had finally broken enough for her to snap at him, that he deigned to say that they were going to see a neutral party who might be able to convince the Elders to leave them alone. Jenny had her doubts, but if it worked…that'd be great. Right?

She still couldn't shake the feeling that Julian was hiding something from her. What he could be hiding, Jenny didn't know. But she had a feeling that it was bad. Maybe this neutral person wasn't so neutral, after all.

A flash of light startled Jenny out of her thoughts. A boy with scruffy brown hair had taken a picture of the building behind them…meaning they were probably in the shot. Julian frowned at the boy, somehow turning from lazily arrogant to dangerous in all of three seconds.

"Sorry," the boy muttered, a blush staining his cheeks. But as he turned away Jenny could have sworn his eyes were momentarily gold. Or…maybe it was just the camera's after image still ingrained into her eyes.

The breeze picked up and Jenny shivered, pulling Julian's duster jacket closer to her and all but snuggling into it.

"Uh…when is this…_guy_ coming?" she asked nervously.

Julian's only answer was, "Soon."

Jenny's hands found their way into the jacket pockets and one wrapped involuntarily around the hilt of the knife hidden there. _If she needed it_…Jenny sincerely hoped she wouldn't.

"Jenny," Julian said, suddenly alert.

Jenny froze. A tall cloaked figure was headed their way. _This is it_, she thought. What _it_ was and if it would be good or bad, she didn't know.

As the figure approached, Jenny felt a slight prickle of alarm; not quite fear, but an unsettling all the same. Julian moved slightly in front of her as if to shield Jenny from…anything that may randomly jump out at her. Jenny peeked over his shoulder and was able to take in a few things about the man…thing. It wasn't very tall (probably Jenny's height or a tiny bit taller), thin, and shrouded in a black cloak that seemed both several sizes too big and like it had been dragged out of a mediaeval movie set. In one gloved hand, it was holding tightly to the leash of a large dog (_a Golden Retriever, _Jenny decided). And in the other hand, it was holding onto a cane, white at the top and red at the bottom like a blind man's cane. Jenny couldn't see anything else. Not his skin color, hair color, or eye color. Nothing. _What-who is this guy?_

Jenny's eyes fell on the dog and cane again, and she confusedly breathed, "He's blind?"

Julian gave a little half-shrug. "At times. Whatever you do, Jenny, don't look into his eyes."

Jenny wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. A thousand more questions burst into her mind. Why shouldn't she? Was he a shadow man? If he was a shadow man how did he become blind? How could anyone be blind 'at times'? If he wasn't blind, what did he need the dog for? And who exactly was he in the first place? Another questions burst into her mind and made her glance around. Where was Marcus?

She remembered the boy who'd taken the picture and her head turned quickly in the direction he'd gone. _Marcus…._

The tapping of the man's cane on cement stopped and, for a moment, the only sound, other than the usual sounds of Las Vegas, was the scrabbling of the dog's claws against the pavement as it tried to sniff Jenny and Julian. Jenny watched the man apprehensively. Was he going to attack them?

"Meduine," Julian said softly and with a surprising amount of scorn.

Jenny expected a bad reaction, but she heard something she hadn't expected: a wheezy, nearly hacking sound. The man, Meduine, was laughing. Jenny felt her green eyes go wide and her eyebrows rise. Julian didn't seem bothered by it and Jenny had to wonder if there was a joke she was missing.

"You've got yourself in a deep shit hole this time, boy," Meduine said and a shiver cascaded over Jenny's spine. His voice was creepy; whispery like wind in a high mountain and yet somehow reminiscent of when the twin girls would speak in The Shining.

Julian's incredibly blue eyes narrowed fractionally. Jenny hazarded to guess that he didn't take being called 'boy' very well.

Meduine settled himself on a concrete bench, his laughter fading as he tugged on the dog's leash. The silence pressed painfully on Jenny's ears until she wanted to scream for them to say something, _anything_. The dog continued to whine and scratch at the floor.

"So-That's enough Griffin!" The dog sat down and was still. "So, you must be the infamous Jenny Thornton."

_Infamous?_ Jenny opened her mouth to talk when Julian cut her off.

"Don't talk to her, don't direct any questions to her. That wasn't part of the deal."

"Actually," Meduine said oddly, his creepy voice going soft. "We never mentioned specifics regarding conversation, boy. You-" he turned back to Jenny "-come."

He raised a gloved hand and gestured for her to come closer. Almost as though a hook had been attached to her, Jenny was dragged forward. She stopped just in front of Meduine, her green eyes firmly on her feet and the cracked cement beneath them.

Just behind her, the dog was growling like a rabid wolf.

Jenny's heart gave a loud and unpleasant thump. She felt a twist of premonition in her stomach. Her legs refused to move. _Oh no._

"Ég enn sé ekki hvað þú sérð í hana, drengur," Meduine whispered.

Jenny could feel his eyes on her. And it scared her.

"Ekki snerta hana." Julian's voice was a growl and full of darkly sinister promise. Somehow, Julian's protectiveness made her feel…better. Safer.

"I'm not," Meduine replied slyly, abruptly switching back to English. He waved Jenny away as if he was afraid of being contaminated by her.

Feeling suddenly returned to Jenny's legs and she stumbled back into Julian's reach.

"Are we going to get this over with?" Julian asked, sounding tired.

Meduine shifted slightly on his bench. Somehow, Jenny could tell he wasn't satisfied that Julian hadn't taken his bait. "You're theory is sound," he said with a bored sigh. "But he is just one person, you would still need to come up with a second trade akin to the power of the one being replaced."

Jenny frowned, really not getting what he was talking about. Julian inclined his head slightly, his icy hair falling into his eyes. Somehow, he managed to look arrogant, bored, and surprised all at once. Jenny's frown deepened as, once again, she realized she was being left out of something.

"He thinks he can rename himself as a god and challenge us," Meduine continued thoughtfully, hate dripping from every syllable. His tone made he grip the knife in her pocket tighter. "We can hardly wait to be rid of the petulant brat."

A storm was brewing in Julian's blue eyes. In a strangely calm voice, he said, "And you won't carve him out…why, again?"

Meduine's voice was subdued as he growled, "Verin. It's all personal with him, as you know. Just as it's personal with you. He would love to get his hands on you, boy," he added somewhat cheerfully.

The look Julian gave him was nearly benevolent. Nearly.

Jenny was extremely confused. She had no idea who they were talking about, but was too on edge (not to mention sure that it wouldn't be taken well) to ask. That feeling only increased as she felt Meduine's eyes on her once more. The girl shivered involuntarily as the air around both shadow men turned gelid once more.

The silence seemed to roar in Jenny's ears.

_Jenny?_ an oddly familiar voice whispered in her mind.

"Griffin," Meduine whispered, nearly too low to hear.

_Run._

"Árás."

The same moment Jenny bolted for the outside dining area of a nearby restaurant, a whirl of sharp teeth and claws leapt for them. Jenny scrambled away. Trying not to slip and fall like one of the girls in Dee's horror movies. She knew something, or some one, was following her, but she didn't dare look back…just in case.

Adrenalin pounded through her veins as her feet pounded the pavement. The girl wound between heavy looking, glass-topped tables, purposely knocking them over behind her without any thought to how expensive they would be to replace. Maybe she would find a way to apologize to the owners later…if she didn't die now.

A muffled _oof_ made Jenny turn around. Meduine had crashed into some invisible wall.

_Now would be a good time to run, Jenny._

Ignoring the stitch developing in her side, Jenny started down the sidewalk again. She simultaneously dragged the knife out of its sheath and the coat's pocket. So much for not needing it.

Meduine was at her side in an instant; he abruptly jerked her backwards, causing several things to happen in quick succession. The knife in Jenny's hand plunged deeply into his chest and the shadow man's cloak slipped off. Jenny found she couldn't hold back a gasp. He was like a corpse, but his eyes…those eyes Julian had warned her to never look into were like mirrors. Jenny tried to back away, staring horrified into his eyes, but her legs wouldn't move. It was as thought she was slowly turning to stone….

Lines of black spread over his face like charred veins that burst open and into flame. Meduine's mouth opened in a silent scream as a large burst of energy exploded from his decimated body, sending Jenny flying.

She landed painfully on the sidewalk, wondering if it was her imagination that she'd thought she'd heard her rib crack. Jenny didn't get up off the ground, though, as the knife fell with a clatter onto the cool pavement. It was unmarred by blood or flame. A pair of shiny boots came into her line of sight; their owner knelt down next to her. She blinked in surprise when a green candy box was lowered in front of her. The girl tilted her head up, her green eyes taking in a pair of violet jeans, a black velvet jacket, and a t-shirt before looking into Marcus's face. He was more cheerful than Jenny had ever seen him.

He shook the box slightly. "Mike and Ike?"

* * *

**AN:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Some feedback would be lovely. =) Thank you everyone for your previous, wonderfully delicious reviews. Au revior, ma belles. Please review if you can.

**Mandidawna:** Heh, you're welcome. :3 I'm glad you didn't find them OOC, and I'm glad I thought up something you've never seen before. It's really difficult to come up with original fanfic ideas. :S Hope you enjoy this chappie.


	11. Summer

**Chapter Eleven**

Jenny stared blankly up at Marcus, her green eyes clouded with confusion and her dark eyebrows narrow as she managed to say very eloquently, "What?"

Marcus grinned as he pulled Jenny to her feet. "Just wanted to know if you wanted any."

Jenny looked down at the candy box then back at him, her expression slightly blank. Her head hurt and her ribs throbbed painfully. She could practically _feel_ the bruises forming on her. "No…I don't."

"Your loss," he said with a shrug as he bent down to pick up the knife with his free hand. Jenny realized she'd never taken a proper look at it before. The iron blade was sharp and slightly curved, like a stretched out boline's blade, and the hilt was copper or brass. She couldn't really tell, and she didn't really want to touch it again to look. Marcus looked at her, something like worry flashing through his eyes. "Are you in pain? Did he hurt you?"

"A…a little," Jenny confessed, trying not to wince.

"Let's get you back to Jules," Marcus said after a minute or two. He looked cheerful again as he slipped the knife into his pocket. "I haven't used the runes seriously in such a long time I'd probably make you grow an extra head."

Jenny snorted at his drama then winced as pain spread through her chest. She was now sure her ribs were broken, or at least fractured. Oh, God, how it hurt…. Her eyes drifted to the slightly singed mark where Meduine one stood.

"Is he…dead?" she asked meekly, somewhat dreading the answer.

The dark shadow man shrugged as though he could care less. "Nope. Close to it, though, kid. Probably just in a piss-poor mood and powerless in some random dimension. Cursed blades can do that to you."

Jenny wasn't sure she wanted to understand that.

They walked along, a comfortable silence falling between them. Marcus hummed a slightly morbid victory song under his breath as he devoured his Mike and Ikes, and Jenny slowly limped after him, trying not to replay the mental images of the fight that had occurred. She frowned, wondering why he and Julian had let her run off alone. They'd said they wanted to keep an eye on her, to keep her safe, but wasn't letting her go on her own counterproductive in a situation such as the previous one?

The moon was just past full and starting to set, shedding it's pale, luminescent light over the world. It made the shadows darker and made the flowers they passed glow. Jenny realized that before this game, she would have been awestruck by the beauty of it. But, at the moment, the silvery light and the sleeping flowers simply slipped her mind. If she'd paid attention to them, they would have made her slightly sad. Because the flowers, like people in general, would never know about the terrible things that went bump in the night as they continued on with their normal lives. They were like a beautiful display of Christmas lights, Jenny decided. Some were sparkly, some were brighter and more colorful than others, and some lasted longer than others, but they were all temporary and would eventually be gone. _I've changed_, Jenny thought, not pleased by that at all. _I've changed and I'm in over my head and I don't know where I'm going next._

So absorbed in her bittersweet thoughts, Jenny didn't noticed when they'd rejoined Julian. The shadow men exchanged quiet words, both deciding to let Jenny have a moment to regroup before they started asking her anything. Meduine's 'dog' was safely contained in a large circle, growling slightly at the three of them. Its growls snapped Jenny out of her thoughts and the worry that it might attack made her completely miss the exchange Marcus and Julian made behind her back; Marcus handing Julian the knife and Julian handing Marcus a vial filled with something dark.

"Well," Marcus said cheerfully, wedging the Mike and Ikes box into his pocket and stepping closer to the circle. The vial was nowhere to be seen. "Let's put this thing out of its misery."

As Marcus stepped through the bubble, Julian pulled Jenny aside.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"No thanks to you," Jenny muttered without thinking.

Julian looked like she'd slapped him. "What did you say?"

It was too late to take the words back and Jenny certainly wasn't going to apologize for them. "You heard me," she said crossly. "Where were you? You said you were going to keep me safe, but you didn't. You weren't there to keep Meduine from trying to kill me. You weren't there to keep me from hurting my ribs. And _you weren't there _when I needed—when I needed you."

There. It was out. She needed him…on occasion, anyway. And if he hadn't known it before, then he was an idiot. Or…maybe she was for not telling him sooner. Granted, Marcus had long ago decided that both of them were insane and focused on getting dirt off his jeans as the circle fell.

Julian stared at her a moment, then, his voice matching hers in level of irritation, began, "Jenny—"

"As fun as it is to listen to a couple bicker," Marcus said, trying to change the topic, "maybe we should go home and discuss this? It's not exactly safe out here and we've done all that we can do here."

"I think that's a great idea," Jenny said, wanting to leave.

Marcus grinned. "Ciao, then."

He vanished with a mocking salute, leaving Jenny and Julian alone. Jenny ignored the white-haired tempter beside her and got in the car, using an immense amount of concentration to buckle her seat belt.

Julian stood there a full second longer than Jenny, thoughts unknown to all but himself, before he followed her. He didn't start the car, though, choosing to sit there instead. A huffy silence fell between them, giving the air the slightly charged feeling that indicated a lover's quarrel. But they weren't lovers, Jenny reminded herself. Nope. Not at all. Not now, not ever. Not even considered…_right?_

"Look, I-"

"Jenny-"

They both stopped, knowing they'd both started talking at the same time and finding it awkward. Jenny blushed slightly, looking down at her lap. She glanced at Julian for the barest second to indicate he should continue.

Julian looked odd. "I wouldn't have let you run off alone if I didn't think you could take care of yourself."

Jenny looked at him blankly. Of all the things he wanted to talk about…he wanted to talk about the not being there bit? Oh, this was going to be awkward and probably involve a drawn out bashing of Tom not being there. If that was the case, Jenny was getting out of the car and _walking_ back to Tahoe. It would be better than dealing with Julian's ego.

However, he surprised her.

"I've said it before, you're fragile, but not weak. You're much stronger than you think, you know. Almost…too strong."

While Jenny puzzled over how someone could be both fragile and strong at the same time, Julian took her hands in his. He caressed her hands as though he were afraid she would break or pull away at his light, almost hypnotic touch. He traced a rune over the back of her hand and Jenny felt her pain fade…only to be replaced by some _other_, hard to place feeling in the pit of her stomach. Julian's hands continued softly tracing the curves of her hands, seemingly oblivious to how much he was winding Jenny up.

Jenny froze as Julian suddenly leaned in, and she had to wonder what he was going to do now. Her heart skipped a beat and shivers of anticipation raced through her body as she felt his breath on her neck. Her eyes closed in response to how tense she now felt; she fully was expecting a kiss. Her breathing shallowed out and came faster, the mere thought of Julian's kisses making her feel slightly dizzy. His lips brushed against her earlobe, teasingly close.

"Don't trust Marcus," he murmured effectively killing the mood.

Jenny just stared, feeling slightly ashamed at how flustered she was.

"Why not?" the girl inquired softly. When Julian didn't answer, she, with a much more irritated and slightly stronger voice, added, "You can't just say things like that and expect me to not want to know. What aren't you telling me?"

Julian frowned and sighed slightly. He looked like he was regretting even bringing up the topic as he leaned back in his seat. Truth be told, he had hoped rather than expected that Jenny wouldn't ask.

"Marcus lives for revenge," Julian said almost inaudibly. "For the last two thousand years, he's been looking for a way to get closer to the Elders. To destroy them before they can return the favor. Now, he's found two things they want as much as him."

"Us," Jenny whispered, finally getting it. This was bad, but obviously part of the reason for meeting Meduine. The 'brat' they'd referred to must have been Marcus. _What are we doing? _Jenny wondered, now thoroughly puzzled. "How do you know all this?"

"That would be telling," he replied, not looking at her.

Jenny scowled. By now, she was getting used to how he looked when he was attempting to hide things from her, and his melancholic expression was sending up red flags. The girl leaned in, wanting to meet his eyes.

"Explain. Please?"

It nearly killed her to have to ask, but it made no difference. Julian merely sat as still as a statue and avoided her eyes. His white hair fell tantalizingly into his eyes, but Jenny was fairly certain he was brooding. She could have shook him. In fact, she really wanted to. Instead, she leaned closer until their foreheads were nearly touching.

"Julian?"

The boy looked up as though startled to hear his name whispered so close to him. Jenny opened her mouth to speak and was abruptly silenced as he kissed her. She blushed as a whimper escaped her before kissing him back. What was a girl to do, after all? She was just starting to feel the desire to pull him closer when the edges of her vision began to darken. _Not again. Not again. Stop it!_ Jenny started to panic and tried to pull away, but it was no use.

Before she passed out, she could have sworn she heard the murmur of, "Go to sleep, Jenny."

* * *

Jenny woke up as they were pulling into the street leading to Audrey's house. She had a slight crick in her neck, and felt mildly upset with herself as she remembered how she'd ended up that way. That feeling intensified when she saw the smug smirk Julian wore. Jenny made a small noise of discontentment and looked out the window, anxious to be back. As she did, she glanced at the clock, surprised to find that it was only an hour after their meeting with Meduine. Weird.

The air around Julian changed as they neared the house, and Jenny suddenly felt like something bad was about to happen. The look on Julian's face only added to that feeling. When he finally slowed the car to a crawl, Jenny fumbled almost frantically with the door.

"Jenny," Julian began warningly.

Jenny ignored him, got the door open, and bolted out of the still moving car. She ran towards the house as quickly as she could, feeling her newly repaired ribs protest at the strain. She skidded to a halt outside the door and jumped when Marcus was suddenly beside her, looking mournful and opening the door for her. Julian's warning flashed through her mind, but Marcus's expression was so sincere that she couldn't not trust him at the moment. She needed all the friends she could get.

Dread rose in her stomach and she tasted bile in the back of her mouth. As Jenny walked further into the house, she didn't look to see if Julian had followed her. She had only one focus: her friends. Where were they?

She found Tom and Dee in the living room; Tom looked upset and Dee looked grim and ashy-faced.

"Thorny-" Tom started, surprise flickering in his eyes at the site of her.

Jenny cut him off. "What happened?"

"Sunshine, it's…it's Summer," Dee said. She sounded like she was trying to stay calm and in control; it wasn't quite working.

Fear came in waves, each one stronger than the last. She didn't wait to hear what had happened to Summer, Jenny simply raced upstairs to the bubbly girl's room. It was very bright here, full of light, summery colors and warmth. The window was open and it was also empty but for one occupant. The wrong one.

Zach sat on Summer's bed, looking blank and puzzled and like he'd had his heart ripped from his chest. And Jenny suddenly knew what happened. Before Jenny could get her thoughts together and say something, Zach looked up at her. He just…stared at her, and Jenny thought her heart might break.

"They took Summer," Jenny managed to get out. There, another difficult thing to say was out. Jenny wanted to cry.

"I don't know what happened," Zach said, sounding lost. "She was here…and then she was gone. How could they take her?"

"She went out the window," Tom said quietly from the doorway.

Jenny looked at him for a long moment, knowing she wasn't the only one puzzled at present. "What do you mean?"

Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace that Summer had been wearing. "Dee found it in the driveway. Near the trees." He hesitated, then went on as though he didn't want to say it but had to, "She said there didn't look like there was a struggle."

The impact of his words hit Jenny like a truck. There wasn't a struggle? Summer had just…left? But why?

"Summer wouldn't just go with them," Zach protested, suddenly on his feet.

"I'm not saying she did, but how do you explain this?" Tom all but snapped, holding the necklace up.

"It's proof that she was dragged off. It doesn't mean anything!"

"That's right," Jenny said soothingly, stepping between them. "It doesn't mean anything, so both of you _calm down_."

Neither boy replied, both looking angry and breathing heavily. Still trying to come to grips with her own sadness, Jenny went over to her cousin and hugged him. He tried to pull away, but Jenny made him hold her back. Any other time it would have taken Jenny right back to the first of the Games, but now Jenny didn't even think of that. She just wanted her cousin to feel better. If anyone needed a hug right now, it was him.

"It's all my fault," Zach murmured into Jenny's shoulder, not letting go and trying to keep Tom from seeing his face.

Jenny's heart wrenched at his words. They'd been having problems and Zach had, instead of doing the protective boyfriend thing, decided to give Summer space. In his mind, if he'd been with Summer, she probably wouldn't have been lured off. That's what he meant, at least, and Jenny was mad at him for feeling like that.

"No it isn't," she whispered back. "It's no one's fault but theirs."

They stood like that for a long time, until Zach was calm though Jenny couldn't seem to stop crying. When they finally let go of each other, Jenny tried, and failed, to smile. Zach just looked at her before looking at his feet, murmuring a 'good night' to his cousin and her boyfriend, and heading off to bed.

Tom started for Jenny, who shook her head. "I…I need a moment."

She walked out of Summer's room, down the hall, and through her bedroom before locking herself in the bathroom. Turning the tap in the sink on to muffle the sound, Jenny began to cry in earnest. And all she could think about…was Summer.

* * *

**AN:** Happy Halloween! Guess what? BRAND NEW STUFF! =D Look! Look! Isn't it exciting? This was the original, never-posted chapter 15 for FI, and, of course, then I had to go and rewrite this fic. It's about time, am I right? :P I hope you lot enjoyed this chapter. Please, please review and tell me what you think! =) Remember, if you reveiwed the original 14 chapters, you'll have to log out of FFN to review.


	12. Of Ice And Shadow Men

**Chapter Twelve**

Jenny wiped the tears from her eyes. She'd been in the bathroom for a while and had finally calmed down enough for logic to remind her that crying over Summer wasn't going to bring her back and neither was sitting there, feeling sorry for herself. She also realized just how tired she was. With it being after three in the morning, Jenny decided she would sleep and, once she woke up, she would try and come up with something to get Summer back. Even if it didn't work…it was her only shot.

She turned off the sink, straightened her shirt, and unbolted the bathroom door. Everything was oddly quiet as Jenny opened the door and she felt her stomach drop out when she saw Tom sitting in the chair in the corner. For once, he wasn't at the top of her list of people to talk to.

They looked at each other for a while, Jenny worrying her lower lip to keep from saying something and Tom keeping his fists clenched as though that would keep his irritation in check.

"We need to talk, Jenny," Tom said.

Jenny felt herself frown. Whatever was bothering him must be really bad if he was calling her Jenny and not some silly nickname. "I know," Jenny conceded, sounding as tired as she felt. "Can we wait until the morning?"

Tom took a deep breath and stood up. He took all of two steps before he stopped. "No. We always say we'll talk about it in the morning or when everything's calmed down or when we're ready, but we never do."

"I know," Jenny repeated. It was the truth, and that was probably the worse part of what Tom said. Ever since the end of the Games they'd stopped talking about their problems. The problems were either ignored or 'solved' on the spot. So, yes, Tom was right…they did need to talk. But she really didn't like when Mr. Let's-pretend-it-didn't-happen became Mr. Confrontational.

"What's the point, though?" Jenny added, trying to delay it. "We'll just end up angry and arguing and in a worse situation than we are at the moment because this is about _them_, isn't it?"

Tom froze, obviously not thinking Jenny would be the first to bring Marcus and Julian into the argument. But, honestly, wasn't it obvious who he wanted to talk about? He guessed, in a way, Jenny was right. They would just get into a fight, but it was getting more and more difficult to hold it all in.

"Right," Tom said sarcastically. "So let's just put it off, act this all isn't happening, and go on with everything."

"Act like what's not happening, exactly? Like Summer didn't just get kidnapped? Like we have a chance? Like you're not acting jealous?" As soon as the words came out, Jenny wanted to take them back. Where had _those_ come from?

"Jealous? You think I'm acting jealous?" He gave a humorless laugh. "Why exactly would I be jealous, Jenny? There has to be a reason, and right now I can't think of _anything_ that would be making me act jealous."

It was a lie and they both heard it. Jenny hesitated. She took a breath to speak, held it, then let it out and pursed her lips slightly.

"I'm not doing this right now," Jenny murmured.

"Doing what?"

"This. All of this. It's the middle of the night and the last thing I want to talk about is your and Julian's vendettas against each other. I want to go to _bed_, Tommy. I just want to pretend for a couple hours that everything's okay so I can get up in the morning and start everything over again."

Jenny didn't think it was too much to ask for, but either Tom did or he decided against talking to her for he said "Fine" before all but storming from the room and closing the door behind him. Jenny stood there for a moment or two, not quite sure what had just happened. Had they argued? Or…was it merely a disagreement? Guilt was starting to creep up on her, too. Tommy only ever tried to protect her, and she felt like she'd just thrown it all in his face. A headache was starting to form and Jenny closed the bathroom door before heading towards her wardrobe.

_What's gotten into me lately?_ Jenny thought as she pulled her pajamas on. The more accurate question would probably have been something along the lines of: what had gotten into _everyone?_ Jenny was sure it was stress. They had all been fine before the Elders had started their game, so that had to be it. Right?

A tiny part of her worried about what would happen if it was more than that.

The window was open and Jenny went to close it, making sure her nightgown fell properly as she walked. Her hands froze on the windowsill. Was…was it her imagination or was someone sitting on the roof? Jenny leaned closer. Yes, that was definitely a silhouette. Were they crazy? They were facing a huge drop! What if they fell?

Intending to tell whichever of her friends it was to get back inside, Jenny poked her head out the window…and stopped. It was Marcus. Jenny blushed. Oh, that was awkward; he'd probably heard everything.

Marcus didn't look at her. He raised a hand, making a peace sign at her and crooked his fingers twice at her in quick succession before dropping his hand. Jenny blinked at him, wondering what that meant. Maybe she would be right to think that he wasn't all there?

"Good night," she said shortly before closing the window and locking it.

Jenny turned the lights out and climbed into bed. God, she was tired, and trying to riddle out Tom and everything else was making her even more so. Her mind wandered back to Summer as she snuggled into the blankets. Like Audrey and Michael, there didn't seem to be anyway to save her. But they had to. Jenny swore to herself that she would save her friends…or die trying.

* * *

The room was white. Torchlight reflected off the marble floors and walls making everything glitter. The only window in the entire room was on one of the more awkward shaped walls. A layer of opaque fabric hung over the darkened glass, and, despite being covered, it made her feel like she was being watched.

Jenny should have known she was dreaming. After all, if the room wasn't an indication, then the long, soft, white ball gown she was wearing should certainly have been one.

To calm her steadily rising nerves, Jenny paced further into the room. The brightness of it hurt her eyes and the chill in the air made her feel like she was in a room made of snow, or maybe ice…. Jenny shivered and hugged her arms to her chest. An oddly out-of-place fountain tinkled merrily in the center of the room. A cigarette hung slightly over the edge of its pedestal, giving off the heady scent of sandalwood instead of tobacco. Some one had to still be there if the cigarette was still lit.

But where?

Jenny looked around for some one, anyone, to talk to but was met with even more confusion when she realized…there weren't any doors. _But…this is my dream_, she remembered. _I should be able to _make_ a door, right? _She tried, and, when she failed, she opened her mouth to call for some one. She stopped at the last second. Something…something was off.

"Well, well. Look at this."

The girl nearly yelped as she whirled around. A shadow stood behind her. Its form seemed to be a constant whirl, making it difficult to make out anything but its keen yellow eyes. Jenny could tell, however, that its voice was definitely masculine.

"Who…who are you?" Jenny inquired meekly.

"Who do you want me to be?"

Jenny's eyes went wide in mortification. She could remember the same words coming from a very different shadow man. To hear them now tainted the memory…twisted it into something worse than it had been previously.

But the shadow was still speaking. "I can scarcely believe you came to me so easily. The others said you would not, you know."

"I didn't come to you." Jenny took a step back, eying the shadow warily. His head was tilted slightly as he observed her.

His voice was mocking as he finally replied, "Then…how on earth…did you _get_ here?"

Jenny shivered at the way he said it, knowing he only dragged the sentence out to bother her more.

"Perhaps it was the boy's fault," he added.

Boy? Jenny was puzzled for a moment. What boy was he talking about? Her mind wandered over her friends before finding the only 'boy' the shadow man could be referring to. "Julian? But Julian didn't-"

"Are you sure?"

The problem was that Jenny wasn't. Doubt festered in her mind, making her wonder 'what if?' It was a terrible feeling.

Unbeknownst to her, the water in the fountain behind her had turned red and gluttonous. If Jenny could look away from the shadow man before her, she would have noticed that the room looked different. The stone dark, cracked, and ancient-looking. Moss and mold clung to the walls and floor and vines that looked more like arteries hung from the ceiling. The room was getting colder.

Jenny, still in her entirely inappropriate ball gown, hesitated. "What do you want with me?"

The shadow man smiled in a reptilian manner, slowly walking toward her. Jenny tried to back away.

"If you don't know," he started, suddenly in front of her with his hands on her shoulders; his fingers biting into her skin, "then let me spell it out for you."

He pushed her back and Jenny fell. She thought she'd hit the ground, but, to her surprise, she found herself sitting on something plastic and…_moving?_ The ball gown was gone, replaced by jeans and a t-shirt. It was about then Jenny realized they were on a playground and she was sitting on a swing. The shadow man had taken on the appearance of a man's silhouette, his scaly hands keeping her on the swing and his yellow eyes boring into hers.

"Let's play a game," he said, staring at her.

"No," Jenny whimpered. She didn't want a game. She was tired of them, tired of the playing and the fighting and loosing people. She wished the games were over.

"Yes," he said as if Jenny hadn't spoken. "A question for a question is…fair enough. But if you lie, you will regret it. Do we have an understanding, girl?"

_Stall him_, she thought. _Stall him and then get away_. But how? She was dreaming. Asleep. How did you get away from something that could follow you through dreams?

"How do I know you won't lie?"

He scowled at her, obviously irritated that she would doubt him. "I'm not so underhanded. I keep my promises. Even the ones I do not wish to make."

Jenny wasn't sure what to make of that. Jenny hesitated again, looking down at the sand under her swing. After a long moment of searching and failing to find a better option, she nodded.

"Where are my friends?" Jenny blurted after a moment.

"With me," he replied slyly. "Safe. What happened to the Filtiarn? Meduine's never returned."

While Jenny doubted her friends were safe, she also was unsure how he knew about Meduine. Unless Meduine hadn't been neutral and it had been a set up from the beginning.

"Julian bound it," Jenny replied. She was scared to lie to him; he looked like he wouldn't mind killing her right there, after all. "Julian bound it in a circle and Marcus killed it."

The shadow man didn't look happy.

"How can I get my friends back?" Jenny added, remembering she could ask a question now.

"Win the Game," he said. Jenny had no idea how she was supposed to do that or even what game they were playing in the first place and she knew he wouldn't tell her if she asked. He leaned in even closer, the chill emanating from him seeping deep into Jenny's skin. "You know the runes, little girl. I can feel them in your very soul; calling to me. How did you learn them?"

Jenny felt her heart skip a beat in the worst way. How could he know? How could he _feel_ it? She subconsciously licked her lips; her mouth dry in her worry and fear. She wondered if it would be possible to lie about it, or to say she didn't know what he was talking about. Her own friends didn't even know she could both read and use the runes outside of the Shadow World. Granted, she'd never really had a chance to tell them and it had been a huge surprise when she'd been tracing random patterns on a school note pad and had accidentally set it on fire.

"I-" Jenny stopped, realizing by the flicker of something in his reptile-like eyes that he knew she wasn't going to tell him the truth. She hesitated, took a deep breath, and told the truth. "I learned them from my Grandfather's journals. I…I don't know how I can use them."

The shadow man seemed pleased, like a cat who'd finally found where the canary had hidden…and was just about to eat it. "Oh, my dear Jenny," he all but purred in his eerie wind-chime voice. "You're more like us than you know."

_No, I'm not, _Jenny thought, horrified. _I'm nothing like you_. But she didn't comment about it, deciding to pretend she hadn't heard him. She wasn't going to just roll over and play dead, though. She wanted to pull some punches of her own and ask some awkward questions herself. Jenny set her jaw, looked him determinedly in he eyes, and inquired bluntly, "How do I win this?"

His throat worked for a long moment. Obviously, he'd hoped she wouldn't ask that. And he couldn't get away with lying. Somehow Jenny knew that something bad would happen if he did. Of course, he could just not answer the question…but then he would lose. And, for a shadow man, losing was not an option.

And then he smiled, a sly look coming over his features. "That depends on if you're clever or not. _Are_ you clever, Jenny?"

_Oh, God, he wants to know if I'm _clever_?_ There was almost no correct answer to that question. Both yes and no meant you weren't. So how to answer? Trying to buy time, Jenny glanced up at the sky. The shadow man had moved back a decent amount of space, and so Jenny could look up freely. The moon glowed full and pregnant with silver light far above them. Stars flickered like little diamonds. _The stars…. _Suddenly, Jenny had an idea. It wasn't plain intelligence, but if you thought about it hard enough, it made logical sense.

Jenny took a quick breath and, not looking at the shadow man before her, said, "It's the giant lighter that makes holes in the sky."

The shadow man thought it over a long moment before breaking into a small, reptilian grin. "How very true, my dear Jenny."

"I'm not yours," Jenny said quietly, looking down at the sand as she scuffed her shoes against the grains. "So, how do I win this?"

He heaved a faux sigh. "It's not that simple, Jenny, dear. You can't win it by yourself. You'll need to get to your friends to win, or you will simply…die. Could I, perhaps interest you in a deal?"

"No," Jenny said in an instant. She couldn't. There would undoubtedly be some terrible twist to it that would mean horrible things would still happen.

"Come on, Jenny," he said, now sounding testy. "There's only one person I want more than you right now. If you give him to me, I'll let you and your friends go. Forever."

"No," Jenny repeated. "I won't trade some innocent person to you."

"Marcus is _not_ innocent," the shadow man snapped. "Far from it, in fact. You would lose nothing from handing him over."

"Only my morals," she snapped, starting to lose her temper. "And if you can't get to him, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe you shouldn't be able to and maybe you deserve whatever he does to you."

That was the wrong thing to say. He started for her and Jenny tried to run. That was another mistake. One of his hands fastened in her long hair, sharply tugging her head back as a sharp, claw-like nail dug into her cheek. Jenny's whimper was cut short as he whirled her around to face him, never letting go of her. His other hand dug into her ribs, and Jenny wanted to cry from how much he was hurting her.

"What do you know, girl?" he snarled, his furious face close to hers. "You know nothing, nothing about us. You know nothing about what he has done or about what he will do."

"Let go of me," Jenny all but gasped.

"He will destroy all of you…and us. You're wasting my very little bit of generosity to protect a mad man who would trade you in in an instant!"

"You're hurting me. Let go! _Let go of me!_"

Jenny closed her eyes against the pain, wishing more than anything that he would just leave. Something that sounded oddly like thunder cracked through the air and the shadow man's grip on her vanished. Jenny's eyes flew open.

The shadow man lay at the base of a tree making its residence at the end of the sand her swing stood on. He glared up at her with hate-filled yellow eyes; there was a promise of violence and destruction within them. Jenny felt her stomach drop out. _Oh no_. She'd probably just made a very powerful enemy. He was probably going to kill her or her friends for sure now.

He vanished in the faintest wisp of mist, leaving Jenny on the tiny playground above an equally tiny cemetery. Jenny remained there until the sun rose, wondering over what had happened.

* * *

AN: And so the bad guy emerges. But how bad is he? Or is the real bad guy a little closer to home? How did Jenny make Verin back off? (Am I worrying anyone yet? :P) Anyway. New chapter ahoy! Hope everyone enjoyed it, but how about y'all review and tell me what you think? :3  
By the way, Marcus's weird peace sign (and Jenny's remark about the lighter in the sky) is from The Hollows series; "kiss-kiss". It's very...him. :P

+ I'm sorry for my grumpiness in previous author's notes, by the way. I've been battling depression for a very long time and it wasn't until very recently I finally saw a doctor about it (it didn't go well, but it did help me get over alot of things and relax some about things). Again, I'm sorry for bitchiness. I'm trying to cut back and only use it on those who deserve it. :P


	13. Fight Me Like You Hate Me

_Please read author's note at the end of the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen **

Jenny had a hard time waking up. Her conscious and unconscious seemed to be having a hard time synchronizing properly. The blankets felt so comfortable, but the sunlight pouring in through the window splashed its warmth across her face and demanded that she wake up. She forced her eyes open and immediately winced.

She felt like she had been up all night running a marathon. Or worse.

Her arms throbbed painfully, feeling bruised, and the rest of her body felt stiff. _Ow. _Had something happened while she slept? She wasn't certain. By the sunlight, Jenny guessed it was about eleven in the morning. That thought made her force herself out of bed to drag herself, groaning, into the shower.

The hot water helped her a little bit. It soothed her aching muscles and calmed her mind as she washed up. She could remember every detail about the dream she'd had the night before. Every scary detail. Jenny felt like she could reach out touch the mysterious shadow man right then, the memory was so clear.

Jenny shivered, the water suddenly not warm enough, and got out. She had just started to reach for a towel when she froze, her breath hissing out of her in a wave of surprise. There was a cut on her cheek. The girl slowly got out of the shower, towel completely forgotten, and crept to the mirror.

Yeah. It was still there. Red-rimmed and looking like a scratch just under her right cheekbone. But she couldn't remember scratching herself and it hadn't been there before she went to bed. Something else caught her eye and she glanced down to where her side was reflected in the mirror. Several more cuts showed up, slightly raised and scabbed, on her ribs.

The memory of yellow eyes tugged at her and Jenny realized where she'd gotten them. Her dream. He, who ever the shadow man was, had grabbed her in both places. The cuts had come from him and Jenny didn't want to know how he'd managed it. She checked the rest of her body, finding no other marks than where he had grabbed her wrist.

She wasn't sure what to do. Her friends would be worried if she told them. And…well, Jenny wasn't sure weather or not Julian or Marcus would know where she got them. Jenny didn't want either group to find out. She couldn't stand the thought of another argument.

Realizing she was dripping all over the place, Jenny dried off and got dressed, heading down the stairs several minutes later. She'd decided to wear a long sleeve shirt and a thick cuff bracelet to hide her wrist and had styled her hair so it would keep her cut hidden. She knew she looked odd, but she didn't care. It was semi-cloudy and the air had a feeling of rain outside and that would be her excuse.

It was as she was passing the front door that her excuse was put to the first test.

Marcus stood there, dressed in something even worse than what Jenny had decided to throw on and seemed to be talking to something in his hand. Jenny couldn't really tell. She was a bit blinded by his bright yellow shirt and yellow and black plaid jeans. _He looks like a bumblebee,_ she thought blankly.

Something had to have given Jenny's blank staring away, for Marcus started, slipping whatever had been in his hand into a pocket as he whirled around.

"Jenny," he all but gasped, looking awkward. He opened his mouth to say something then stopped as he took in Jenny's blank expression. "What?" he added, looking down at his clothes. "Is it too bright?"

"Maybe a little," Jenny admitted weakly.

A look of consternation came to Marcus's face, and, after a long moment, the yellow of his shirt turned a deep magenta and his pants turned black. Jenny supposed it was better than the bumblebee look.

The memory of what the other shadow man had said about Marcus in her dream came to mind, and Jenny suddenly felt even more awkward. Would he really do that? Hurt them, that is? He wasn't…normal, really, but he seemed, usually, to be so…_nice_. Almost too nice. Her stomach felt odd as she wondered if Tom was right and they were making a huge mistake.

"Something wrong, kid?" Marcus asked. His brow furrowed in confusion and worry, making him look irresistibly like a puzzled little boy.

Jenny hesitated, running a hand through her slightly damp hair. She shook her head.

Marcus's face went momentarily blank as ire sparked through his eyes only to be replaced with faint amusement and understanding. "If you say so."

He shrugged and went to open the front door. Watery sunlight streamed in from a break in the cloud cover. Jenny stared as Marcus stood contentedly in it for a moment.

"Does it hurt?" Jenny blurted. Wasn't sunlight supposed to kill shadow men?

"Just a little," Marcus admitted, eyes closed. "Prolonged exposure is the real problem…but I've got a couple tricks to keep from immediate death by sunlight."

"Oh?"

"Jenny?" he added, giving her a tiny smile. "You don't want to know."

Jenny blushed. She really wanted to ask what they were and where he was going, but maybe he was right. Some things were best left unknown. Jenny turned to the cellar stairs, remembering what happened before her dream and needing to take it up with…someone.

"And Jenny?"

She looked at him curiously, green eyes questioning.

"If something, hypothetically, was on my mind that was dangerous…I might try and ask someone who knows about whatever it was. An…expert. Just because an expert might be able to stop whatever hypothetical thing that was bothering me from getting me hurt. Hypothetically." He smiled brightly at her and vanished.

Jenny just stood there, trying to process that. Maybe it just wasn't sinking in because Marcus looked too young for the wise man spiel and so Jenny wasn't sure if he was joking or threatening her or…something else. Weird. Very weird. She wandered over to the cellar stairs.

She made her way down the stairs, worry pinching her brow as her stomach turned. _I'm just going to say what I need to say, then go. I'm not going to stick around. _Jenny had a bad feeling about it. Like she was playing with a lit match in an oil field.

The cellar was nearly pitch black, and cooler than the living room above it. Jenny inched her way down the stairs, letting her eyes adjust until the room didn't seem so dark any more…and then she tripped.

Her foot fell through the air, finding no purchase in the stairs that should have been there. This was it, Jenny was sure. She was going to fall forever and this would be the end and-and, suddenly, she wasn't falling anymore. A pair of arms had securely enfolded her and her feet were back on solid ground. Jenny stood there for a long moment. Her heart didn't seem to want to go back to normal and she was breathing hard as the adrenalin faded from her system.

"Julian?" she questioned meekly, taking a guess at who had caught her.

"Yes?" he replied, voice surprisingly close to her ear.

"Nice catch."

Julian chuckled softly; Jenny could feel the chuckle reverberate through his chest. He held onto her for a long moment before slowly letting her go. His hands trailed down her arms, making her shiver slightly.

"What did you want, Jenny?" he asked, an odd, almost business-like edge to his tone. Maybe her outburst from the night before was still on his mind?

Jenny tried to pull her thoughts back in line from the mess her near-fall had thrown them in. She didn't want to bring up exactly what had happened in her dream, but she felt she ought to know some more about shadow men. Julian owed her that much after everything, right?

"We need to talk."

In the darkness, Jenny couldn't see Julian's face, but she could feel his gaze upon her. The weight of his eyes was heavy and almost all-consuming. Jenny couldn't help but feel amazed at how Julian always gave the impression that he was paying attention to no one but her when she spoke.

When he didn't reply, Jenny went on: "I know you know more about Summer than you're saying. I just…I need to know, Julian. I need you to tell me so we can plan what to do. We can't fight something we don't know very much about, right?"

"Jenny, you-" he started and stopped.

He didn't think she could fight them, Jenny realized. He didn't think she could handle a fight with the Elders and he didn't think she could handle the truth. Why else would he not want to tell her?

"What happened to your wrist?" Julian asked sharply, ignoring Jenny's original question.

The blond froze, not realizing she'd been rubbing at her throbbing wrist. Suddenly guilty, she insistently replied, "Nothing."

"Really? Let me see it."

Jenny felt Julian step closer to her, and she took a step back, childishly holding her arms behind her back. "Answer my question and I'll let you look at it."

"This isn't a _game_, Jenny."

"There's been some debate about _that_."

"Why won't you just let me look?"

"Why can't you just_ answer my questions?!_"

Julian sighed in exasperation as if he was dealing with a stubborn child. "Don't be childish, Jenny-"

"_No!_" she snapped, cutting him off. "You hunted me. You toyed with me. My friends could die now, because of you. What do you know that could help us?"

Muttering something that sounded like '_Verin_' as his eyes alighted on the scratch on Jenny's cheek, he moved closer to her. "The Elders are on the hunt," Julian replied, grasping her forearms and guiding her over to an old La-Z-Boy recliner, "and you want to fight them, dear Jenny? Do you really think you can?"

The backs of her calves hit the edge of the chair and Jenny fell back into it. Before she could blink Julian was straddling her lap.

"What are you doing?" Jenny demanded, pushing uselessly at him.

"You want to fight the Elders, Jenny, well you can start by fighting me." As she pushed at him, he added, "Come on, Jenny; they're older than me and stronger than I am."

"Get off of me."

"If you can't fight me, how will you fight them?"

"Get off of me!" Jenny fumed, struggling despite the fact that Julian was as immobile as a glacier.

Julian sat back slightly, looking relaxed, though Jenny wouldn't have put any money on it. The look her was giving her was indecipherable and she felt trapped by those blue, blue eyes.

"Oh, Jenny, you _are_ hopeful, aren't you?" He caressed her cheek softly, but the aura of danger refused to fade from around him. "But it doesn't change that fact that life is cruel and unfair and so are we. It doesn't matter what you hope. The Elders will destroy you and we will lose."

"Then why bother coming back? If it's all hopeless, why are you doing this?" Jenny spat, irritated.

Something about Julian suddenly made her think of a lazy cat as he replied, "If you don't know the answer, you never will; and, if you do, you've no need to ask."

Before she could tell him to stop playing around with her, he'd vanished.

* * *

The club was a bit smokier than usual, Marcus thought as he kissed the neck of the girl on his lap. That was fine, though. Smoke was good for hiding nefarious deeds, and, seeing as the girl in his lap was dinner, he could use some good coverage. Unlike his maker, he preferred the taste of people's life forces to their flesh. It didn't feel so…wrong when he devoured a soul; the person was still alive afterwards, after all…well, sorta.

The girl was a succubus, though, so she'd be even more fine than most others.

Pity he couldn't just live off of gummies and candy.

Sated, he pushed her away and pulled his drink closer. The succubus gave him a tart glare and sashayed away, her tiny hips swaying so wildly she looked as if she might fall over at any moment. Marcus knew better than to think she meant it though: she'd gotten the best meal of her life from him and she'd be stupid to complain. Or so he reasoned, as he sipped the bitter liquid in his glass; his golden eyes falling closed as he rested his head on the back of his chair.

The room froze.

"Hello, Verin," Marcus drawled mellifluously, not deigning to open his eyes. "You finally caught up."

He opened his eyes, meeting the cruel yellow eyes that seemed to stare into his soul—what soul? Did he ever have one?—and read it like a cheap novel.

"I received your message," the Elder said. His voice, usually tinkling like Christmas bells or iced wind chimes, was flatter than usual. It was like the bells had been covered with a pillow and stuffed into a covered box.

"Did you, now?"

"Yes…painting that alley in blood was particularly creative." Verin tilted his head slightly, watching him without pause. "I taught you well, didn't I?"

Marcus set his drink down with the slight clink of glass on wood. He petulantly blew at a long strand of his dark hair that was tickling his nose. "Almost too well. But this isn't why we're talking, is it?"

"No…what do you want, boy?"

"Other than your brutal demise?" Marcus retorted brightly before turning serious, "You realize you're going to lose, don't you? That you're going to be bested by children and another brat who turned against you?"

Verin's lips tightened in disapproval, his sharp-nailed hands tightening against the tabletop as if he wanted to reach out and strangle his former protégée. He restrained himself, though, holding his irritation in and only expressing it through the sudden drop in temperature within the club; frost spreading over the ground and tabletops, freezing drinks as it went. Marcus could practically hear him grind his teeth together as he seethed.

_Temper, temper, Verin._ The black-haired shadow man tapped sadly on his frozen drink before pushing it far away. "I wanted to ask…how much are they worth? Jenny and Julian, that is. Julian's a dead man as it is, right? So…Jenny's the real prize, isn't she?"

"I don't see why that is any of your concern," Verin replied dryly. His tone suggested that he didn't care, but the glint in his eyes showed otherwise.

"Oh, but it is, isn't it?" Marcus muttered. "How much?"

Silence.

"Enough to buy my freedom?"

"Yes."

Marcus tilted his head. "Funny…Meduine said it wouldn't be."

Verin tensed again and Marcus held in a jovial smile; it just wouldn't help his case. "Meduine lied…he does that, haven't you noticed?"

"I did. Luckily, he won't be around to do that any longer." This time he really did smile, pleased with how that had worked out.

"I should have known-"

"Unfortunately, it was Jenny's doing…not mine."

"Is there something you actually wanted, or did you merely call me to this hovel to gloat?" Verin snapped, finally fed up. His nails dug into the tabletop as he leapt to his feet.

Marcus slowly rose from his chair, staring into his maker's with an almost homicidal calm that seemed to cause the entire club to darken. "You know _exactly_ what I want. But I can't have her now, can I? I came here to deliver you a message: the end is drawing near. I suggest you prepare."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would. You forget, Verin, I could have decimated you before; now I've got help, so what do you think I'll do?"

Silenced roared through the room. Marcus could feel his heart thudding erratically, could hear the blood thundering in his ears. A part of his mind urged Verin to reply, wanting to know what his maker was thinking—he'd never had to ask before—but he wasn't sure he _really_ wanted to know. And he was too angry to truly care.

Verin sighed. "You never change, do you?"

"Old habits die hard."

"So do I."

"We both play a dangerous game, Verin. Try not to underestimate me, though, love. I've studied with the best human minds there have ever been…and I've had a long time to plot. You've had even more time, I know. Maybe it's about time you and I came to terms about somethings." Marcus lit a cigarette, wafting the heavy sent of sandalwood, and began to talk.

* * *

**AN:** I come to you, with my jaw in agony (wisdom teeth...ugh), hoping you like this chapter. ^^ Marcus...gah. Do you guys still like him? ;) And Julian's tactics for diverting Jenny! Anyway. I hate to say this...but FI will be coming to a close soon. Don't worry, I'm not deleting it or anything...it's just nearing the final chapters. Ah, well. Please review. =)

* * *

**SHOUTOUT! Please read!:**  
There's a forum one of my friends (y'all should know her as Clairavance) created for Forbidden Game. There's a link to it on my profile. Please, please join if you have an interest in forums. It would be nice to see more active members. =)

* * *

**Mandidawna:** Aww, thank you, dear. =) If I'm perfectly honest, I took a break from the story to get back into LJS's books. *reread TFG a couple times* And to edit this story. *shifty* But I'm, for the most part, back enough into the fandom that, if I can type up my wirting fast enough, I should be updating more often. =) I'm glad you're still enjoying it. Hehe, thanks. XD


	14. Locke And Key

**Chapter Fourteen**

Jenny felt rotten. Her stomach felt vaguely queasy and her head felt as if a million jack hammers were running in it all at once. She had her head in her hands, her golden hair falling around her face and onto the dining room table.

They were all sitting around it in a mock-formal meeting: Jenny, Zach, and Dee on one side with Marcus sitting directly across from Jenny and Julian between them. Tom sat at the far end up the table, across from Julian. Jenny had found an old pad of paper in a drawer and they'd spent most of the day pushing it back and forth between them as they traded ideas. Which was the problem, really. They had _ideas_ on how to rescue Summer, on how to fix Audrey and Michael, on how to stop the Elders…but, in the end, they were out numbered and they weren't strong enough.

_Look at you—all of you. What a pathetic bunch. And_ you're _trying to storm the Shadow World?_ Julian's words from the Tunnel of Love and Despair floated back to her as if he'd spoken them only moments before. Now, the words felt true. Their attempts _were_ rather pathetic.

And then there was the group itself. They were coming undone. Marcus's happy-go-lucky smile had long-since faded. Dee was looking thinner—like a ragged street cat—and Zach had enough bags under his eyes to supply a supermarket. Julian's blue eyes seemed to be growing cooler and more vacant. Tom spoke to no one unless spoken to, and, even then, he only spoke in clipped, sharp sentences.

This had been going on for the last three days and Jenny felt like she was about to go mad.

Whomever had the pad of paper in their possession was tapping the pen against it in an annoying rhythm. Tap. Pause. Tap. Pause. Taptap. Pause. Tap.

"We need to just _commit_ to something," Jenny muttered frustratedly as she raised her head.

They'd broken from their usual sitting pattern that day: Tom and Zach having both abandoned the kitchen mere hours before. Julian hadn't left, though, a little voice in the back of her head pointed out.

Yes, but the others weren't really gone, either. They just needed some space. They _all_ needed some space.

"We're going in circles, Sunshine," Dee groaned.

_I know_, Jenny thought. _But what can we do?_

She felt eyes on her, watching very closely to every move she made. It was strange, she knew, that she was almost used to it by now. She'd been hunted for _so long_ that being watched felt…normal. Which was just strange.

"Maybe we'll find _somethin'_ tomorrow," Dee added, stretching languidly. She hopped off her chair and made for the kitchen counter. As she popped the top on a can of Carbo Force, a minor argument ensued between her and Marcus—who had decided the counter was a lovely place to perch as he scarfed breadsticks—about just who had the right to counter space.

Jenny silently excused herself.

She was tired, but she _had_ promised Tom that they would talk as soon as there was time. Well, there was time now. She didn't want to talk about any of this, but if it helped her and Tom to be on the same page…and if _that_ helped those remaining to band together, then wasn't it worth doing?

"Jenny?"

Sometimes she forgot just how Julian's voice sounded, especially when he said her name. Like water over rock, it was elemental; beautiful. At that moment, maybe even a little wistful. It froze Jenny dead in her tracks.

"Julian?" she replied, her voice nearly a whisper as she met his eyes.

"It won't make any difference," he told her, and it took a moment to realize he meant talking to Tom. "He made up his mind about you and I a long time ago so this won't have a happy ending, Jenny. You can't change _his_ nature any more than you can change _mine_."

A small, humorless smile touched Jenny's lips at that. "Well, _I_ haven't given up hope on _you_, yet."

He didn't follow her upstairs.

Jenny felt unconscionably nervous as she knocked on the door to Tom's room. He bade her to enter and, as she did so, she suddenly decided that her nervousness was _actually_ quite reasonable: maybe Julian had had a point. Too late now.

"Hi, Tommy."

"Jenny…," Tom sighed. His voice was cool and melancholic as he added, "What happened _now_?"

"Nothing, I—how are you?" Jenny asked, trying to stay strong.

Tom had been going through his suitcase, looking for something. At Jenny's words, however, he stopped and turned to face her. Jenny felt herself frown in concern as she took in his appearance. His usually neat brown hair was ruffled as if he kept running his fingers through it and the green flecks in his hazel eyes had dulled to a drab olive colour. He looked a mess.

Worst of all: he was talking to her with the forced politeness of one trying to get rid of a houseguest that refused to leave. And he was _still_ calling her _Jenny_ just like Dee or one of the others did. Not one of the silly, affectionate nicknames he always called her.

"Uh…do you want the truth?"

A splinter of ire flared in her gut at that. "Oh no, Tom, because, when I ask a question, I _want_ to be lied to."

He visibly winced at the sarcasm and sharpness in her voice. "Okay, maybe I deserved that, but how would you feel if you were in my shoes?"

Jenny brushed her hair over her shoulder. "I don't know what you mean," she told him, truly at a loss. "We never talk—about _anything_, Tom—so how could I possibly understand what's frustrating you?"

"That's _exactly_ the problem, Jen. We're _supposed_ to be together, but _you_ don't seem to trust my opinion!"

"I trust you more than _anyone_, Tommy."

"Which is why you picked _them_ over _us_," Tom spat bitingly.

_Oh_, she thought, realizing he meant the two shadow men who were loitering downstairs. As much as it hurt her—and Tom's attitude hurt almost more than she could bear—the pain was abruptly hidden by a wave of bitterness. "I didn't choose one over the other," Jenny snapped and hurried on when it looked like Tom might interrupt, "I chose the good of the group over personal feelings."

"You _chose_ to ignore _the group's feelings_ completely!"

"Then what should I have done, Tom?! Should I have told them to go away and we'd call them when we decided what to do with them?!"

"You should have trusted us when we said we didn't want them around!"

"No one but _you_ has complained about them being here. Besides…I owe Marcus _and_ Julian better than that," Jenny said, her voice going oddly quiet.

The air in the room felt slightly electric, but Jenny didn't focus on it. A change had come over Tom at Julian's name. Whereas before he'd been all hot with "righteous" anger, he was suddenly overcome with a cold fury.

"You don't owe either of them _anything_," Tom said, his voice thick with restraint.

"You're wrong, Tommy," Jenny told him quietly. "I owe them more than you know. If it weren't for Marcus, I—I'd—" She felt tears burn her eyes and stubbornly blinked them back even as her vision began to blur. Tom began to cut her off, but, again, she hurried on before he could continue with his argument. "Julian saved my life too, you know. It was in the Shadow Park; the Elders turned a trick of his into a trap and…and I almost _died_, Tom. And I never told you because I didn't want you to _worry_ or for you to blame him for it. Julian has done a lot of bad things, but he's _not_ the root of _all_ your troubles."

The soft look in Tom's eyes, the pitying one that said 'oh, Thorny, I'm sorry; I didn't know' while she had spoken, vanished.

"Jenny, none of that would have happened if it weren't for them," Tom insisted petulantly. "Besides…they aren't the only ones who are trying to protect you."

"That's not what I need, though!" she burst out. "Not from _you_, Tom. I _need_ you to _stop_ telling me what I need and just _support me_." Jenny looked him squarely in the eye, then. "And, if you can't do that for me, then maybe you _don't_ know what I need, after all."

The words hung in the air between them. What she'd said began to sink in and Jenny felt horror welling up in the back of her throat, rendering her speechless. _Oh god, what have I done?_

"Is that really what you think?" Tom whispered, looking as if he'd been slapped.

Jenny wanted to say "_no_"; to take back her words, but she couldn't. Her throat felt constricted and she was unable to make a sound. All she could think was: "_I didn't mean to say it out loud_." But that meant that she _had_ meant the words. She didn't _want_ to mean them.

Tom seemed to get the gist of it from her silence, though, and snatched up his jacket.

"Fine," he growled and stormed from the room.

Fear and shock made Jenny hesitate. By the time she'd regained control over both her voice and her legs and was running blindly after him—calling his name, all the while—the front door was already slamming shut.

Standing on the bottom step of the stairs, Jenny was dimly aware that everyone left in the house was staring at her.

Jenny's red-rimmed eyes finally focused on Dee's anxious face. "We'd better go after him…it's not safe to be alone out there."

* * *

It was unseasonably cold outside. The cool air was a blessing, though, as it whipped across Tom's warm face. He couldn't properly think. Jenny's words had thrown him into a turmoil; all at once, he was suffocated by a mix of anger, sadness, and embarrassment.

Jenny had all but said he didn't know her anymore, and he just…Tom didn't know how she could say such a thing with how long they had been together. With how much he loved her. She _had_ to know how much he loved her—from her honey-coloured hair and green eyes to her sometimes infuriating compassion and all her little quirks in between. He _loved_ Jenny Thornton. But…somehow, he'd always felt _something_ was missing from their relationship. Naturally, he'd never really wondered what it was…and he'd never thought it would cause something like _this_.

And yet, through it all, he couldn't help but be relieved.

At least Jenny had finally made her choice. He wished, more than anything, that she had chosen him…but she hadn't. And now he had to act. The Elders would come after him he knew, but, just maybe, he could get them away from the others long enough—or, though impossible, could even hurt one—and he could prove to Jenny just how much he cared. And so, without any concern for himself, Tom ran into the darkness.

* * *

Marcus was furious. _Stupid boy. Stupid, stupid human_. It was all he could think and he was close to losing a grip on himself. He hoped Jenny _mutilated_ Tom Locke when they found him.

He and Dee had been the first out of the house and, for some reason, Marcus had a _really_ bad feeling about that. Dee amused him, and, if something happened to her because of Jenny's asinine boyfriend, he was going to be beyond angry.

Speaking of asinine human boys….

Marcus caught Tom's scent and changed course, appearing to the human just in time to knock him out of the way of a giant, coiled shadow. He couldn't decide if he was pleased or not that he'd saved Tom from being thoroughly trounced.

"Go!" he barked to the boy, staring down the shadow as Tom pulled himself to his feet.

Tom was incredulous. "But…w-what are you—?"

"Saving your ungrateful ass, now get back to the house!"

The order, and the danger, finally seemed to get through to him for Tom turned and ran. Marcus moved to follow and the shadow skidded to a halt between them, its form coalescing into a child-sized, humanoid figure. _Interesting_.

Marcus, never one to want to disappoint, smiled with amicable charm. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting just yet."

The shadow hissed at him like a feral cat.

Marcus frowned at the shadow and pulled a lollipop from thin air. He meticulously removed the waxy white wrapper and popped the candy into his mouth. Cherry. _Yum_. "That's very rude, you know," he chided. "You should _never_ back talk your host."

A wave of dark energy sliced through the ground, driving itself straight toward him. Golden eyes wide with alarm, Marcus dove out of the way and rolled to his feet. To his immense displeasure, the lollipop fell from his mouth and to the floor. He made an obscure gesture, like that of a stage magician, and fire bloomed red and hot in his hands. "But, if you want to _play_ with me…I just _can't_ say no, can I?"

They were perfectly still for a long moment, neither of them wanting to do something that cost their life. _Something_ about the shadow was disturbingly familiar to Marcus. _Think about it later, then_.

The shadow twitched slightly, giving away its intended direction of movement just before acting on it. Smiling sweetly, Marcus negligently lobbed the fireballs at it: one was short by a fraction of an inch, but the other struck dead on. _Yep. I've still got it_, he thought cheerfully as he approached the fallen shadow.

"See, the problem with this picture is that you'd _love_ me if you got to know me. I'd actually like to know you _very_ well," he said. At an afterthought, Marcus tsked and added, "You small fries are so _stubborn_, though."

Infuriated, the shadow rolled over and hurled into a ball of what Marcus thought was dark green sludge. It missed, striking a tree, where it bubbled and steamed on contact. _So…not sludge. Oh no_.

And then he was caught in a whirlwind.

There was no way out. Heart pounding, he threw spells of every variety as fast as he could manage. Nothing seemed to be making an impact on the swirling mass that seemed to attack from every side. For the first time in a _very_ long time, Marcus felt a prickle of panic. There was only one spell left he knew to try.

Resigning himself to whatever Fate had in store for him, Marcus closed his eyes…and their patch of wood exploded with light.

* * *

Jenny wasn't sure how long they'd been looking; minutes, hours, she was unconcerned with time. Guilt clawed painfully at her gut and she tried to ignore it. _Think good thoughts, happy thoughts, Jenny. We_ are _going to find Tom and I'll get to apologize and explain myself and…and…Oh,_ Tommy, _I'm so sorry_.

But, after another twenty minutes of searching, the horizon was touched with the pale green light of the approaching dawn and Jenny was forced to make the slow trek back to the house. Her heart seemed to drop right out of her chest when she saw only Julian and Zach were waiting for her.

"The others aren't back yet?" she asked, her voice coming out as a sort of strangled whisper.

Both boys responded in the negative.

Jenny turned to watch the door, trying not to hyperventilate. _One, two, three, breathe in. One, two, three, breathe out. Breathe, Jenny. Breathe! Just give it ten minutes_.

But ten minutes came and went without a single sign of the others.

"I'm going back out," Jenny announced.

They didn't want her to, she could tell by their silence, but she was also knew neither of them was going to try and stop her. Both her cousin and the shadow man knew her too well. And then, just as she reached for the door, the radio turned itself on to an unfamiliar station. None of them had touched it, or even been near it, but still the DJ's smooth voice poured into the room: "—dedicates to Jenny Thornton, his favorite 'game player', a blast from the past. Here's 'Enjoy The Silence'."

Depeche Mode blared, far too loud, through the room. Feeling eyes on her, Jenny darted forward and turned the radio off.

And so the silence played on.

* * *

**AN:** Wow, I'm updating fast! Hehe, this is weird for me. Last time I updated something fast, I took a two year break from writing it (coincidentally...that was still this story...). _Aaaaaany_who. Drama! Intrigue! Danger! Spelling and grammar issues! This chapter has it all! ...I'm not kidding, either, I barely edited this chapter so warn me about errors, please. This chapter was...moderately painful to write. I hate arguments, but this was a long time coming and it needed to happen...for Jenny's sake. And because I have a...disfunctional relationship with Tom (who is surprisingly hard to write, I've discovered!) and...yeah. _SO_. I'm glad to see, by the amount of views this ficcy is getting, that people are still reading this little monster I've created. While I could sit here and beg all of you for reviews, this time I'm going to say: Thank you all _so much_ for reading! Seeing all the readers this gets is so inspiring for me to finish this. But now I need your help! (C'mon, you knew I wouldn't let all of you off _that_ easy. ;) ) Even if you don't have time to go review this, please, _please_, **_PLEASE_** take two seconds to go on my profile and vote for what should happen next! Because I don't have a single sentence of the next chapter written and, at this rate, you lot might have to wait years for the finally two chapters... (Is this bribery/blackmail stuff working? I dunno... I just need help!) The poll will be up until the final chapter is posted, so vote quickly! Thank you guys again for the continued support.

(Also, Depeche Mode anyone? Rock on, dudes.)

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**Reply to Mandidawna:** Yay! If you still like him through his crazy mood swings, then I've done my job right. ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed it. To be honest, I'm really struggling to fit some good Jenny/Julian time in because of everything elsein this story. Maybe I should give them some cuddle time soon...in bed...I'll just stop there. :P Thank you so much! Hehe, you're really making me blush, here. You know what? You're _also_ pretty dang awesome. Not only have your reviews been really encouraging...you also happen to be my 80th reviewer for this story (which is the most reviews I've ever gotten for one story..._ever_). *major hugs*


	15. Test Drive

_Note: Everyone who has been unable to review before, should be able to review now, since we're finally past the original mark of how many chapters were here before the whole editing and rewriting thing..._

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**Chapter Fifteen**

_"Close your mind," the old woman kept saying. "Close your mind."_

_And he tried—he tried hard—but his Elders' words were too loud and he just couldn't get them to shut up._

_"Close your mind."_

_But the images were coming faster now: shards of light and half-shouted words. Memories, too many to count, were spiraling out of control. And then_ she _stood before him. Her skin sun-kissed and her hair wind tossed. She had never looked more like a child. His dear, sweet, precious Kai._

_She smiled enigmatically at him. "Catch me if you can!"_

_He followed her as she disappeared into the tall grass._

_But the old woman's voice was still whispering in his head, "Je vous ai dit une fois, et je vous le répète: vous n'avez aucun talent pour cela. Now, close your mind."_

_He was lost in the grass, the twin scents of dust and pollen tickling his nose as a pleasant breeze rustled the grass' long, golden stalks. He couldn't see anything around him and so he started off in a random direction. As he ran, the air grew cold and the sun vanished from the pale blue sky. Snow began to fall heavily._

_It was then he emerged into a small clearing._

_Kai stood in the center, tear-stained and battered. "Run away," she seemed to say. "Run away!"_

_Instead, he ran toward her. But, as he reached her, her form changed and his maker stood before him instead, making him draw up short._

_"Are we_ still _having fun, boy?" the man with yellow eyes asked._

_And then everything was falling._

* * *

Jenny was completely surprised when Marcus finally woke up. She'd been waiting by the side of the bed for the past three days, hoping and praying that, after the terrible state they'd found him in, he would open his eyes. If she was honest, she'd been wondering if he ever would.

But then his entire body jerked and his eyes flew open and a vase across the room shattered as if it had been hit by some heavy, invisible object.

"Where am I?" he asked wildly, looking more than slightly panicked.

"You're okay," Jenny assured him quickly. "You're safe." _For now_. "How…how are you?"

"Fantastic," he replied bitingly. After a beat, he added, "I feel like a frost giant just sat on my head. Where are the others?"

An awkward silence filled the air between then as Jenny played with the hem of her old t-shirt and Marcus pulled himself up to lean against the bed's headboard.

"We won…didn't we?" Marcus inquired slowly, a hint of suspicion lacing through his cello-like voice.

"Tom and Dee never made it back to the house. We looked everywhere…and all we found were these." She held up Tom's car keys and a long strip of fabric that looked to have come from an army fatigue jacket.

She glanced at him after an even longer moment of silence. Marcus had gone perfectly still, his expression as closed off as a brick wall. All traces of his usual infectiously good humor had vanished and, for once, Jenny could believe he was as old as he was; that he was some ancient being who had seen it all, done it all, and was now bearing the weight of that responsibility.

"I'm sorry, Jenny," he said solemnly, and a bit formally. It was clear he had little experience apologizing and was therefore uncomfortable with it.

Jenny looked away from him, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. At first, she had been angry: angry at Tom for being egotistical and insensitive enough to run off, at Dee for not staying closer to the group, at Zach's cold clarity, and at Marcus and Julian for not doing enough. There wasn't a single person involved in this fiasco that she hadn't raged at…and she'd said some very cruel things. _I should apologize to Julian for telling him I wished he hadn't come back_.

But that was days ago. She'd cooled off enough to think rationally and now she was ready to properly play.

"Don't be. None of us were ready for Tom to leave like that." But I should have been.

"No, Jenny; I mean—"

"I want to go after the Elders," she blurted, cutting him off. When he just stared at her, Jenny added, "I want to go after them _for real_ this time."

A lopsided grin had come to Marcus's face, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Well, if you'd let me finish my sentence."

Jenny blushed.

There was a perspiration-choked glass of ice water on the nightstand and Marcus took a grateful sip of it before saying, "I'm not going to apologize for not saving Tom—I made a decision to put personal vengeance and ego first and there's no point in saying sorry when I'm not—what I'm saying sorry about, is that I didn't remember that there _is_ someone who can help us sooner."

Jenny's mind couldn't seem to link his words together. Dumbstruck, she stared at him. "What did you just say?"

He didn't reply to her whispered question, instead choosing to watch her with an earnest, open expression.

Unfortunately for him, Jenny wasn't so easily swayed—she'd resisted _Julian_, after all, puppy-dog eyes were minor league material. "You've _known_ someone who could help us all along and you decided not to mention them until _now?!_"

"_Jenny_, don't be ridiculous!" Marcus yelped, eyes wide in surprise. "I haven't seen her in nearly fifty years—I don't even know if she's still _alive_—and she likes her privacy. I…I forgot. I wasn't _trying_ to withhold _anything_."

The blond watched him, her dark brows furrowed as she tried to assess if he was lying or not. In the end, the sincerity of his words and the look on his face won out and she relaxed back into her seat.

"Then let's go. If she can help, we should talk to her as soon as possible."

"It's not that simple; _you_ can't see her, Jenny."

"Why not?" Jenny asked suspiciously, frowning at him.

Marcus hesitated, tracing water droplets on his glass before setting it back on the nightstand. "The people of her region say she's possessed by a loa. A spirit. I don't know if that's true or not, but she likes to collect…_special_ people."

"I'm not _that_ special, though."

"But you are, Jenny Thornton. You've escaped the Elders and the Shadow World many times now. You ensnared a 'devil's' affections—"

"When you say it like _that_, then _anyone_ could be special," Jenny protested, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

It was true. She hadn't done any of those things easily or because of some amazing power. She wasn't "special". She was just trying to save her friends—usually with their help—and to survive. Marcus was looking into it too much…wasn't he?

But the shadow man was continuing on with an odd little smirk on his face that was beginning to creep Jenny out. "—and let's not forget that _you_ can use the runes. Do you know how _rare_ that is? How unheard of if is for a _human_ to use them properly? You're a strange girl, Jenny; you've got magic in your blood. _Our_ magic. And _that_ is why I refuse to take you _or_ your cousin to see Sofie."

Jenny sat there, his gaze heavy on her skin, and tried to deny his words. But her mind was betraying her. What if he's right? It made sense…in a way. Her connection to the Shadow World. Her grandfather's experiments. And then…then there was the issue of her using the runes….

"Are you sure it's _wise_ to see Sofie?" a water-like voice said suddenly.

Jenny jumped, gasping in surprise. As she tried to calm her heart, she wondered how long Julian had been lurking behind her.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Marcus inquired, puzzled. "We go _way_ back, Sofie and me."

Julian's expression was sardonic at best. "The last time you asked Sofie for a favor, you ended up chained naked to a cage with a dog collar around your neck for six months."

"Too much information," Jenny muttered meekly, trying to banish the mental image.

Marcus, on the other hand, smiled contentedly. "What a wonderful six months those were, too." At the expression on Jenny's face, he added, "Can we have a minute, Jenny?"

"Take as many as you need," she replied, fleeing the room before the conversation could get anymore awkward…if that were possible.

Zach was waiting for her in the hall. For once, his hair was free of it's customary pony tail and his cool gray eyes were sharp as he watched her.

"You look tired," she told him, feeling her face cool as the blush faded from her cheeks.

Her cousin simply inclined his head slightly.

"Marcus is awake," she went on, rambling slightly in her discomfort. "He said he might have a way to help us, but, while we wait, I was thinking we should eat dinner. We might have to wait a while…."

Jenny's voice trailed into silence. Zach had never been one for talking much, despite how he'd opened up some after the third Game. Unfortunately, everything that had happened lately had caused him to ice over again. But, honestly, what could Jenny do about it? Force him to talk? That would just be childish and silly.

After all, he'd warm up again when everything was back to normal, she was sure.

_What if it_ never _goes back to normal, though?_ Jenny wondered suddenly. If they beat the Elders, Julian wasn't just going to leave her alone. She knew him _that_ well, at the very least. And, if they got her friends back…then what? Michael and Audrey would still be a happy couple and Dee would still be happily single…but Zach and Summer would still be having relationship problems—problems that would probably become pretty essential to talk about after everything. And…and she and Tom…what would become of them? It wasn't like she could see Tom _and_ Julian at the same time; it was uncomfortable to even _think_ about! And she didn't want to, anyway.

Sometimes…sometimes she just wished she was the Jenny Thornton from before the Games: innocent, naïve, and ignorant to the world's harshness.

As these thoughts swirled about her head, Zach had remained silent. That being said, it took her a good moment to remember he was there and, when she did, she couldn't help but feel _even more_ awkward.

"Okay, then," she murmured, remembering that she had offered to attempt to make dinner. As she hurried off to do so, she hoped and prayed she'd find something different to think about.

* * *

Dinner had been uneventful, or so Jenny tried to convince herself. Marcus had left beforehand, so the table was quiet. Julian had accepted the offer to join them purely to please her, she knew, and Zach had spent the entire meal casting dark looks at the shadow man while barely picking at his food. Jenny gave up on small talk after both boys' answers started sounding like well-hidden barbs aimed at each other. By the time dinner was over, Jenny was hoping and praying Marcus would return immediately.

He didn't.

Instead of immediately sitting and fretting in her room, Jenny forced herself to watch tv. Halfway through some doctor drama Audrey and Summer had liked (because of the male lead, mainly), Zach got up and left the room. Several moments later, she heard him stomp up the stairs and then the slam of his bedroom door.

If she was perfectly honest, Jenny wanted to do the same. But she felt eyes on her, both from a shadowy corner of the room and the brightly lit hallway behind her, and pride made her bully herself into another couple of hours of staring at the screen like a zombie. And still Marcus didn't return.

Jenny felt herself unraveling as she, feigning calm, left the living room and went to get ready for bed. The house was utterly quiet when she finally was dressed and stepped out of the bathroom. Usually, there were creaks from the house settling, groans from the pipes, and shuffling from the others of the house moving about in their own rooms. At the very least, the hum of the AC was a nearly constant backdrop to everything in the house. Not this time. There was only pure, utter silence.

She could still feel eyes on her.

"You don't have to sit in the shadows and watch me just to be around me," Jenny said to the room at large, crossing her arms in pseudo-annoyance.

"Old habits die hard," came Julian's voice a second before he stepped out of the shadows before her.

_Don't I know it_, Jenny thought weakly. There would always be a bit of fear upon seeing him, she knew. A habitual flash of fear and alarm and…and…. She didn't want to think about it. Mood turning decidedly bleak, she tore her gaze away from him and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"It's never going to end, is it? They'll always hunt us. Even if we beat them and I can have my friends back…they'll never leave us alone. Will they?"

Tom would have told her 'yes'. Tom would have tried to comfort her and would have assured her that they could win. Julian was not Tom, though. Instead, he knelt down in front of her, gently tilted her chin up until she was looking at him, and replied, "No. They never will."

Jenny met his eyes and suddenly didn't feel so afraid. "Then we've already lost."

"I _never_ lose."

She had the oddest urge to smile at that, remembering all the times she'd 'beaten' him. The urge was gone when she remembered how he'd always gotten retribution. Julian loved her, and he never hesitated to get back at her for beating him at his own game. What about the Elders? How would they react? She'd never even thought of it like that before. What if her friends were beyond saving? Tom…he was the one who meant the most to her, and the shadow men knew that, what would they do to him if they couldn't get to her? Her heart seemed to crack at the thought.

Jenny pulled him onto the bed beside her, and tentatively hugged him. He was confused, she could feel it in the way he wrapped his arms around her. All the times she had used seduction against him were coming back to bite her now, as he didn't seem to trust that she wasn't trying to trick him into…_something_.

"I just want to pretend everything's normal for just one night," she murmured into his black vest. "Can you give me that?"

"I'll give you anything you want, Jenny. You just need to ask."

* * *

Jenny didn't remember falling asleep; all she knew was that one moment she'd been laying in Julian's arms and the next she was waking up. There had been no dreams. No talk. Nothing. Just peace.

Blinding sunlight brutally assaulting her eyelids forced her to open her eyes, though, and she found she was still in Julian's arms. Worse, he was awake and watching her closely. The urge for companionship she had had the night before was gone and it had been replaced by an awkwardness in her gut. Julian's arms may have been comforting, but it still felt like she was betraying Tom.

Then, to Jenny's horror, she heard someone clear their throat.

She quickly pulled herself out of Julian's grip and sat up, looking toward the door for who had come in. "Marcus! You're back!"

Blushing was too mild a word for how red Jenny felt her face go. She could see in the other shadow man's eyes that he was making assumptions and that he was extraordinarily awkward about intruding on what he had assumed.

Marcus nonchalantly ruffled his long hair and Jenny realized he was a mess; one of his jacket's sleeves was missing and there were holes in the knees of his jeans that hadn't been there before. A rumpled-looking paper bag had taken refuge under one of his arms arm, looking entirely out of place.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked, getting off the bed as Julian slowly sat up.

"Peachy," Marcus replied wryly. He roused himself, apparently changing whatever he was thinking about, and added, "_So_. Sofie checked out and gave me presents. Now: who wants to go kill shadow wolves?"

Jenny had the feeling it was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Julian really didn't like this, being bait. For starters, he wasn't sure exactly what Marcus was expecting him to do. He's taken to just wandering a small patch of wilderness about a block away from where Marcus was instructing Jenny on preparations.

And that was another thing about this he didn't like: Jenny having to use _their_ magic.

He understood Marcus was trying to prepare her for what was to come, he understood it was in her blood and she needed to learn, but he didn't like Marcus putting her at risk. And he was being sure to let Marcus know that with every thought he had. Julian knew he was being overly protective, but Jenny was _his_ and he still intended on letting her realize it. (And, as long as no one let slip the nature of his and Tommy's most recent arguments, he had a feeling she'd be more receptive soon enough.)

Which brought him back to his little slice of inactive purgatory.

The sky was leaden and drizzling on the lake, making tiny rivulets of water seep under the collar of his shirt and causing a fine mist cling to his too-white hair. His boots were starting to get muddy, with little leaves and twigs clinging to the damp leather. Julian would never let show just how anxious he was feeling in that moment. It was all or nothing. Either a Filtiarn would show up and they'd have a test subject, or one wouldn't and they would have to go in blind.

Julian _hated_ going in blind.

And so he waited.

And waited.

The air grew colder and the winder blew harder, making tree branches whip about like dancers mid recital. The clouds seemed to get heavier above him…and the world darker. And that's when he heard it: a snarl close to his left ear. Instinct made him lunge to the right just in time to avoid a nasty bite.

The shadow wolf growled, bands of saliva dripping from its many teeth, and its hackles rose.

_Run_, Julian told himself. Life experience didn't allow him to run from danger. He was a predator, a hunter, the very top of the food chain. He didn't run from anything. _You need to run_.

The wolf made another wild lunge, and Julian deftly avoided it, almost losing the beads Elena had forced him to wear what felt like lifetimes ago.

_Jenny's in trouble. Run_.

Lying to himself worked better than anything else, and, when the wolf attacked next, Julian ran. Then and there, he decided he didn't like being the hunted one: dodging tree branches, skidding on dirt, hearing the tremulous thudding of your heart in your ears as it melded with the sounds of your pursuer gaining on you. He didn't give the Filtiarn the chance to get close.

He pulled ahead and darted behind a nearby building, flattening himself against a wall. It was how they had set the trap, and, as he met Jenny's eyes from halfway across an empty lot, he realized he wasn't the only one who didn't like this plan. At least Marcus and Zachary weren't stuck out here, in the rain, with an angry shadow wolf.

The sound of low growls rose up from the street side of the abandoned building, setting him on edge when he heard the click of large claws grinding off of broken glass and stone. Across from him, in a small, innocuous circle, Jenny shivered slightly. Even from where he stood, he could hear her whisper "everything's alright" to herself over and over again. _Next time, Marcus is the bait_.

The wolf slowly stalked around the corner. If it was intelligent, it would have known the one it was looking for was directly to its left. Seeing as it wasn't, it focused on the only thing it _did_ notice: Jenny.

Julian had the urge to pull Jenny away as the Filtiarn lunged for her, but she stuck to the plan and dove out of the way just in time, trapping the shadow wolf in the circle she had been previously occupying.

"That wasn't as bad as I expected," she said meekly when he joined her, and he tried not to snort. Right. She didn't honestly believe that anymore than he did.

Julian turned his back on the wolf and replied, "It doesn't mean Marcus knows what he's doing."

"I resent that," the black-haired boy sulked, reappearing with a slightly unnerved-looking Zach.

"And _I_ resent _you_."

"Moving on," Jenny cut in before they could get too sidetracked. "What next?"

Marcus suddenly looked embarrassed, tugging a worn black book from the pocket of his very tight jeans. "It was supposed to send it back immediately."

"Supposed to?" the others echoed, various tones of disbelief in their voices.

"I didn't say it was fool proof!" Marcus protested. "Maybe one of the runes is wrong."

Julian had a very hard time not rolling his eyes.

Marcus fretted and poked at the circle for a bit and Jenny wandered over to her cousin. Not for the first time this Game, Julian had the odd feeling of being a fifth wheel. He couldn't say it was a feeling he enjoyed in particular.

"Got it!" Marcus exclaimed, changing one of the chalk lines he and Jenny had drawn onto the pavement. He reiterated the incantation Sofie had given him, and a blinding white light erupted from the circle.

It was, to put it bluntly, the kind of light that made you want to gouge your own eyes out. Julian heard Marcus yelp and Jenny scream as he forced his eyes closed, trying not to look at it. A great rumbling filled the air, like the sound of a rolling boulder, and, just when Julian was beginning to wonder if Marcus had had a single clue what he was doing before casting strange spells, everything stopped.

Julian opened his eyes cautiously. To his relief, Jenny was still there and perfectly fine. Her cousin was still there, too. And, unfortunately, so was Marcus…who was looking insufferably smug. The only thing that _wasn't_ there was the shadow wolf…and all the ingredients they had used to make the binding circle.

"It worked," Zach said slowly at the same time as his cousin.

"Somehow, you actually did it, brother," Julian muttered, half sarcastic, half surprised.

Marcus, on the other hand, was smirking. "I told you Sofie wouldn't let me down." His smirk suddenly vanished and he added, "It's time to try something bigger, then."

He was right. It was time to prepare to take on the Shadow World.

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**AN:** 90 reviews! :O What are you guys trying to do to me?! LOL Thank you guys so much. =) I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It's bland to me, but...meh. One day I'll edit it and make it shiny and awesome. For now? Well, just tell me what you think. ^^ But, look! Marcus has motive now! Yay! Bye til next chapter! (Don't forget about the poll on my profile!)


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